


Easy

by spattergroit



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Minor Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2018-12-15 11:03:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 58,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11804700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spattergroit/pseuds/spattergroit
Summary: Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy.





	1. Back to Black

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the characters and to be honest, I barely own the idea. Everyone likes babies though, right? I promise that this is a Brienne x Tormund fic for all its merit and worth. But we had to start somewhere!

Her knee rapidly bobbed up and down as she sat on the edge of the bed, her face in her hands and stomach growing tighter each time she took a shaky breath.

The open door to her bathroom was staring her in the face and she couldn't handle it. Jumping up from the bed in a huff, she walked over to close the door, trying to ignore the pregnancy test sitting on the counter.

This was all too much.

But now that she was no longer sitting, she began to pace in a slow tortured sort of walk with her shoulders slumped over and a frown set on her features.

She was never taking advice from anyone else again unless it was herself. This she was sure of.

Feeling as if she needed these words written in stone, she said it aloud:

"From here on out, you will only trust your gut."

Because of Sansa Stark, her entire morning consisted of her pacing back and forth, wringing her hands and chanting _everything's fine_ so much so that it had become a mantra. The she began to sing it with a little tune, finding that did ease her anxiety somewhat.

Every second of every minute was spent pacing and her eyes constantly darted towards the closed, painfully white bathroom door of her tiny one bedroom apartment.

The waiting was the _worst_. In the one minute she had spent pacing, at least three hours had passed. Surely, going to the gallows had felt less torturous than this. Her eyes would occasionally slip to the door each time she stepped past it.

And of course, when she wasn't eyeing the door, her eyes slipped to his powder blue dress shirt that was lazily folded over the desk chair that sat in the corner right by the window. The natural light through the window shone down on it, like it belonged to some great prince. But truthfully, that was how she viewed him and already she knew that was the flaw.

It was her best friend's fault, she decided, why this onslaught of stress was unbearable. It was Sansa that suggested she take the damn test after all. If she had her way she would just pretend like there was nothing wrong and eventually, well it would just go away. Right? That was a simple solution to what she thought was an over-complicated problem.

She grabbed her cell phone from the desk and hit the home button to see how much time had passed. She was just on the cusp of two minutes and there was no greater relief that washed over her. But immediately after, she felt worse. Much worse.

Slowly and full of foreboding, she turned the knob on her bathroom door and stepped inside. She saw it before she even reached the counter it was sitting on. Two long pink vertical lines glared up at her already asking her just what the hell she was going to do about this.

Very suddenly, she found herself doubling over the toilet. The bagel, the coffee, even the water - it was all coming back up now. Then the smell of it all made her retch more. Fantastic. Just fantastic.

If she was being honest, her gut instinct agreed with Sansa anyway.

Stupid, traitorous gut instinct.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She absolutely could not believe it.

But it was...

"Shit," she whispered.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaime Lannister was the wonder boy to rival wonder boys. His "relationship" with Brienne Tarth was never supposed to really happen, at least not for her. Men that looked like Jaime never looked at Brienne and if they did it was with the curiosity, wonder, and often abhorrence that annoyed her so.

In the beginning, Jaime would be no different because their first interaction together consisted of him hurling insults her way because _he_ had broken _his_ hand and was embarrassed about it.

He had been trying to show off his new motorcycle (that he still hadn't learned to drive, it should be noted) and while he was tinkering around underneath, the thing fell on his hand nearly crushing it.

Was he a mechanic or a motorcycle expert? No. Did that stop him from almost losing his hand bothering around with things he wasn’t equipped to deal with though? That was also a no. But did he blame his fate on the EMTs that arrived on the scene to aid him? Yes.

The moment Brienne and her EMT partner arrived, aiding this man stuck underneath a motorcycle with the letters "KING" engraved on it, they knew they had a problem child on their hands. He seemed to think the word "wench" was supposed to be hurtful but it barely even registered a blink from her.

Naturally, that only pissed him off more.

He complained and bitched and _whined_ the entire time he was in their care all the way to the hospital until she had handed him over with a smile and several inward sighs of relief. He was such a nuisance, Brienne and her partner flipped a coin to see who would be riding in the back with him.

Of _course_ she lost.

As soon as she stepped inside to ride in back, he made snarky comments about her attraction towards him being the reason she was riding with him. He _was_ attractive. She wasn't blind but his attitude and behavior really did ruin his good looks.

Brienne made it very aware to him that the only reason she had been sitting in the back of the ambulance with him was because they had done a coin toss and she lost the battle. He shouted that she was a liar but his rude commentary was brought to a minimum after that.

Within a week, she was receiving a bouquet of flowers and a formal apology from him, with a note telling her that he would never be disrespectful to another person like that again, no matter how much his hand hurt. Sansa had to practically force her to call him back and say thanks for the flowers but eventually she did and he warmed to her.

And here she was, from flowers to pregnancy tests...

Now it was just a matter of how she was going to tell him. Obviously, she couldn't tell him over the phone nor could it be through a text message. That was just so unlike her. One of the first things he said to her in the form of a compliment was that he valued her honesty. Well she would just have to figure out how be honest with him.

"Stay with me and let's raise the baby together like the family we're meant to be?"

It sounded silly when she said it aloud. And desperate. No, she would not ask him anything of the sort.

With a sigh, she picked up her phone and found him in her contacts. In her phone, he was playfully listed as Kingslayer. The joke never got old. She sent him a text telling him that she needed to see him and it was urgent. Despite his busy schedule, he often made a way to see her.

The phone buzzed and the message response appeared:

_Need to talk to you too... *smiley face* Will come by in the afternoon._

She gulped and put the phone down. He needed to talk to her, too? What on earth could he be wanting to talk about? That did nothing to settle her nerves and now she was no longer just obsessing about telling him she was pregnant but about what he could be telling her, too.

She called in to work and if there was a problem, her boss said nothing. Being an EMT was a fairly busy job but she never faced problems with her coworkers or superiors. Sansa liked to say it was because most men were scared of Brienne. She never understood why men looked at her like she was some sort of freak of nature, malfunctioning type of human being but it did keep the worst ones away. And that was the most important part.

But it didn't keep Jaime away, did it?

His cruelty the first time they met each other, hardly made Brienne bat an eyelash though it did disappoint her. He was too handsome to be that vindictive but insults were hardly productive when it came to getting an emotional response from her. After his apology everything changed.

What started as playful banter, mostly from his end, became a friendship that consisted of long talks about every thing they could think of. And when the conversations would cease, a comfortable silence would settle between them the way a warm blanket feels on a cold, rainy day. As their friendship grew, a romance blossomed very tenderly just below the surface.

When things really changed for them, Jaime was going through a terrible separation with his wife Cersei Lannister. The running joke in the Stark household (the family that had basically adopted Brienne after her mother passed away and her father became seemingly incompetent on raising a daughter), was that Jaime had only been in one film and married his onscreen sister, Cersei. What was even stranger was how similar they looked. Even Brienne joked about it with him occasionally. Naturally, he hated the joke.

"Who would have thought," Sansa mused, "that my best friend would be sleeping with _the_ Jaime Lannister?"

Not just _the_ Jaime Lannister because was some fancy celebrity but because he was now a well-known attorney that was often spoken about in the paper. Even when his hand had been crushed under _KING_ the motorcycle, it made front page news.

He was ...kind of a big deal.

By the time he was knocking on the door, Brienne was curled up on the couch in her favorite sweats and larger than life jersey that had New Zealand All Blacks written on it in large white letters. She pushed herself up from the couch and pulled the door open, her stomach tightening at the very sight of him.

"Is everything okay? You don't look so well, Brienne."

Curse him for saying her name in that way that always made her stomach dip!

"I'm fine." She retorted.

Her paler than pale face and red rimmed eyes was a dead giveaway that she was lying through her teeth.

Though Jaime didn't seem too convinced by her very short response, he did not protest. He sat next to her on the couch and sighed. Brienne watched him in silence as he fidgeted with his hands, unsure she assumed of what to do with them. He was rubbing his palms together, focusing his attention on them. It was one of the things about him that often frustrated her. She couldn't help but reach over and grab one of his hands, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I..." they spoke at the same time and nervous laughter followed.

"You should go first," Brienne nodded her head, allowing him to start. Assuming that he had come all the way over here to tell her that he and Cersei were finally deciding on a divorce, she think she could handle the thought of pending motherhood much better.

But even she knew the very thought of that was too good to be true.

Just because Brienne was a fool in love, didn't mean she was a fool. The idea of being stupidly optimistic was a concept that fell deaf on her ears. She knew things with Jaime and Cersei would never be resolved no matter how many ways he expressed his love to her. He was never always with her entirely, even in their most intimate of moments.

She knew where this conversation was headed and she knew that Jaime still danced his way between her and Cersei, unable to make a proper decision on who he wanted to be with.

She was a grown woman! It was silly and stupid but Brienne couldn't help herself. She loved him.

"There's no right way to start this," Jaime looked down and then laughed.

And there it was, the sentence that she knew would be coming despite the attempt at being stupidly optimistic.

"And there is no right way to finish it either," he suddenly couldn't look at her.

Brienne wasn't going to sit here and hold her breath for some nonsense declaration of realization that Jaime decided she was the one for him. There were still moments she had to cope with the fact that she had been sleeping with _the_ Jaime Lannister in the first place.

Did he deserve her the way she felt she deserved him?

No, not really.

"Cersei and I had a talk and we... well, we decided to give our marriage another try."

Quite suddenly, she realized she _was_ holding her breath and for a moment, she sat in silence. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest and there was nothing more she wanted in the world than to have the floor open up and swallow her whole.

"So that's that then?" Her voice was soft and she sounded uncaring. That wasn't what she meant to do.

Jaime frowned.

"I know this seems so sudden but when you are in love, things are just so complicated, layered. I've been battling with this thought for days now. Weeks. I'm sorry."

Sudden? Complicated? When he was with her, he was never any of those things. Or was he? How was she so wrong about everything?

"You deserve better, so much better than me. You deserve someone that will be able to give themselves to you, wholly and complete. I knew I wasn't able to give that to you but I just..."

She knew she deserved better but she didn't want better. She wanted _him_.

He faded off and she sat in silence, waiting for him to say something else. When he seemed unable to finish, she nodded her head and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Her palms felt sweaty and the urge to throw up returned. She turned her head away from him and looked at her television, sighing loudly. Jaime's eyes were on her and she wished he hadn't looked at her.

"What did you... did you have something you wanted to say to me?"

With her jaw set and face determined, she turned to him and shook her head.

“I think you should leave.”

He opened his mouth to reply but shut it and with a nod of his head, standing to his feet. In silence, Brienne watched him leave without bothering to say goodbye.

And she decided that she would not tell him. This moment was reserved for her. After all, he had made the decision to work through the many layered and complicated matters of love with his darling wife. She would work through the many layered and complicated matters of her pregnancy.

And really, it didn't matter any of the five, six, or seven hells what Jaime Lannister thought anymore. It was officially her decision.

But what was her decision?


	2. Ten Tests Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brienne gets the confirmation she dreaded. The best thing about writing an AU with such a vast group of characters is that you can assign them lovely tasks so I hope you enjoy what I've done with the characters! Thank you so much for the reviews! I am truly glad you are enjoying it because I am enjoying writing it!

Hours after Jaime left, Sansa called to check on Brienne and the tension alone from her end of the phone was enough to get her friend over to that apartment right away.

She now sat on the bathroom counter inspecting the directions of an empty pregnancy test box next to Brienne, who was sitting on the toilet with her chin in her hand. What a sight she must have been.

"How many of these did you take, exactly?" Sansa moved the box around with an expression of awe.

"I took ten," she admitted.

"You know, ten of these _could_ be wrong."

"The last time I took your advice, I discovered that all ten of these were right."

"So what were you supposed to?" Sansa gave a hollow laugh. "You were two months in with no period and you had to. Now that you've found out you move on to the next step."

"I don't want to move on to the next step! I personally would like to pretend this never happened."

She buried her face in her hands and groaned loudly. When Brienne lifted her head to look up at Sansa, her expression was cool.

"Fine," her tone was casual, almost icy. "You can just wait until the baby comes dancing out of your vagina or maybe when the doctor cuts you open and rips it from your stomach. Either way, something is happening in there," she reached an arm over and waved her hand around Brienne's mid-section. “And you’ve got to do something about it.”

A heavy sigh came from Brienne’s lips and she slowly shook her head.

"What even _is_ the next step?"

"We could get a list of mommy doctors from Talisa."

Brienne jeered at the idea of ‘mommy doctors’.

Talisa was the wife of Sansa's older brother Robb. In Robb’s very short lifetime, he had made an awful lot of decisions but Talisa was definitely the best one yet. They met each other in Spain when Robb was on some odd “finding myself” sabbatical and she was participating in Doctors Without Borders. No one in the Stark family would ever know how he managed to charm a woman like that to fall in love with him but somehow, it worked.

"No, no I'm fine there. I can go to Dr. Dany."

She couldn't hide the exasperation in her voice, not that she was actually trying to.

Sansa pushed herself off the counter and walked over to kneel down in front of Brienne.

"Whatever you decide, you know that we will always be here for you."

"No, your mother cannot know," Brienne protested.

Sansa frowned and then nodded her head. Brienne clenched her jaw then held out her pinky finger and with an exhale, Sansa locked hers with the woman and they tightened the grip on them for a moment.

To the doctor she had to go.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

As it turned out, her gut and Sansa were _both_ correct. She was currently lying on her back, looking at the small mass (her fetus, as Dany explained) sitting in her uterus. She was both horrified and amazed by this discovery.

"You're about eight weeks in and not quite a heartbeat yet!" Dr. Daenarys Targaryen or “Dr. Dany” as she practically begged everyone to call her, kept her hand very still while she explained the findings on the sonogram to Brienne.

“We're still very early on but you caught it just before the last month of your first semester. You'd be surprised at how common it is."

Brienne was still looking on in horror at the sonogram. That .. _.thing_ was inside her?!

"Brienne..." Dr. Dany's sing-song voice pulled her eyes away from the sonogram and she was now looking at her. She could see the concern etching her beautiful features. "I'm going to let you get cleaned up and then we can discuss your options in my office."

Options? Well how many options did she have?

Once Dr. Dany was gone Brienne got cleaned up and was back in her t-shirt and jeans. She walked into Dr. Dany's office and sat in the chair across from her. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that the photographs had evolved around her office. There used to be a photo of Dany and her husband Khal but now there were photos of Dany, Khal, and beautiful little boy that was the spitting image of her husband. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a very impressive glare just like his handsome father.

"So," Dr. Dany folded her arms on the table and smiled, "Congratulations on your pregnancy. I know the last time you visited me a year ago, we discussed it and you said you had no plans of motherhood in the foreseeable future but you know, time changes everything."

She leaned back a bit in her chair and adjusted glasses. Brienne suddenly wondered if she needed glasses or if she just wore them because they made her look more intelligent.

"Actually, my thoughts hadn't changed," Brienne said honestly, "this pregnancy wasn't planned at all."

It felt good being honest about this.

"Well, there are other options if you aren't ready."

Somehow, Dany managed to keep a very neutral expression when she said this. How was she so good at this?

Brienne shook her head and sighed, "I need time."

"Absolutely," Dr. Dany was so understanding. It was almost unnerving, "well when you've made your decision, please call and schedule an appointment and we'll take it from there. The most important thing in all of this is your health and we want to be absolutely sure that you are not just healthy here,” she motioned to her stomach and then to her brain, “but here as well.”

Then, because she was great at her job, she reached over and took Brienne's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. If she hadn’t been so overcome with shock she would have burst into tears at the simple gesture.

When she left the doctor's office, she checked her phone to see several calls and messages from Sansa. She didn't bother responding to them, not yet. Before she scheduled an Uber, she walked over to the park across the street from the hospital and sat on a park bench, enjoying the quiet but not so much her thoughts.

This was going to be the biggest decision of her life. Whatever she decided there would be no going back.

A woman walked by pushing a stroller, a smile on her face. Fleetingly, Brienne thought about how she would look pushing some stroller through the park that had held a baby with Jaime Lannister's hair and eyes.

It was just too unreal.

She laughed, imagining herself holding something so small, changing its diapers, kissing and cooing to it. It was a ridiculous image, her holding on to a baby, being its mother, and caring for it.

She laughed so hard, tears filled her eyes and the people that walked by gave her strange expressions but she didn't care one bit how ridiculous she might have looked. Her head fell back and she let out a loud guffaw and stomped her foot hard on the ground.

Her hands felt clammy and though she wasn't laughing anymore the tears were still there in her eyes. Was she actually going to do this? She brought her fingers up to her lips and absently trailed her fingertips over them, thinking of the last time Jaime kissed them. She supposed that was the moment he’d gotten her pregnant. They were watching some show on television. Actually, they hadn’t been watching the show but spending most of their time looking like love-struck idiots into each other’s eyes and then…

Finally, her behavior caught the attention of someone.

An elderly woman with kind eyes sat next to her with worry etching her features. She put her brown hand over Brienne's and smiled warmly, "Is everything alright, sweetheart?"

"I'm-" a slow smile spread on Brienne's face and she looked up to the sky in disbelief, "I'm going to be a mum."

"What a lovely thing to discover!" The older woman's smile only brightened Brienne's day.

After she left the park and she was sitting in the back of her Uber she scrolled through her phone and called Sansa. The moment she told her the news, there was a squeak of delight from her end of the phone and she chided Sansa for being so silly.

The first order of business was finding a bigger place to stay. Finance wise, she would be fine currently. Insurance, doctor, all those things would work to her advantage. Arya and Rickon (Sansa's younger sister and brother) didn't know it yet but they were about to become babysitters. She needed to call her father and the thought of that sent an overwhelmingly dizzy sensation through her.

He was going to ask her who the father was. His knack for unintentionally bringing out the dread in her was astounding. It wasn't a silly question. It was the very logical question a father asked his daughter when she never mentioned having a significant other in the twenty years she had been living in another country away from him.

Every holiday she visited him, she showed no signs of settling down even if all her fantasies included Jaime, a wedding, and a baby or two.

All the worrying had taken her from her current status of reality and before she knew it she was slowly making her way into her empty apartment.

According to the clock in her kitchen, her father would be turning in for bed now. Calling him to tell him now wouldn't be a wise move because he'd stay up all night worrying about her, wondering what evil man had impregnated his pure daughter.

It was a shame because he probably would have liked Jaime, too.

She looked through her phone at the photos and text messages, all the history of them and then sat down on the couch to slowly delete his existence. If he wanted to stay he would have and a baby should not have been the deciding factor.

An hour and a half later, things he left behind were packed in a box. She was unsure what to do with them but considering their last conversation it was safe to say she was going to throw all these things away. Whatever he missed he could afford to replace.

Goodbye, Jaime Lannister.


	3. The Devil Wears Torn Jeans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brienne finally meets Tormund and the games begin. I can't stress enough how thankful I am that you all are enjoying the fic and hope you continue to do so. We're finally reaching the romantic comedy part of our story.

The sound of a toilet flushing was the newest soundtrack to Brienne’s life, followed of course by the sound of a faucet running, a gurgle, and then a sigh.

She walked into the living room just in time to see a group of women dancing and singing on her television – “ _TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN_!” A large tampon brand appeared on the screen after. Standing there for a moment, she looked at the screen with contempt then snorted. Time flies whether it’s fun or not. She was proof of that.

It was her fourth month and she was unsure how this weight gain thing was supposed to happen considering that she was just getting past the phase of never being able to keep her food down.

Not that it was all bad, she didn't spend as much time throwing up as she had before. Not now, anyway. Her time was now spent burping or farting (Both? Barting? Furping?), or feeling like her chest would explode from heartburn. Sansa said it was because of the tacos and spicy salsa but Brienne was not giving those up. It was bad enough coffee was already off the menu, tacos would have to be taken from her cold, dead fingers.

Her phone buzzed and she looked at it, crossing her eyes out of frustration. Podrick Payne was sending her another email showcasing his genuine incompetence. She didn’t want to call him, this day was her day to stay home and fart and burp and bart and furp …in peace.

Working at the Baelish firm was agitating enough when she had to deal with her strange and irritatingly creepy boss Petyr Baelish but now she had a new assistant that knew exactly nothing. Great thing to put in the arms of a pregnant woman, honestly.

So Brienne sat on her couch, ginger ale in hand and phone in the other, watching as the phone rang and rang until it eventually ceased. He would leave a message, sounding panicked and then he would call back in twenty minutes and tell her that everything was fine. It was the dance they did and she was worried it would  _never_ end.

To think she could be in Italy playing professional basketball right now if she had just decided to stick with it.

The phone buzzed again with the would-be frantic Podrick Payne voicemail. Slowly blinking, she sat the phone on the coffee table and took down another swig of ginger ale, which she decided at that very moment she hated. When she placed the ginger ale on the coffee table her phone buzzed again and one arm went in the air.

“What did I say?” she asked to no one but her own frustrated self.

This time it wasn’t Podrick Payne and instead it was Catelyn Stark. Well, this was an unpleasant surprise. She already knew what this call was about.

Sunday Stark Dinners was in her planner and the plan had been to ignore it. She was going to ignore it for the next eighteen years if she could. But there really was no reason in avoiding this phone call. Catelyn could be relentless that way.

“Hi,” her greeting came out like she already knew she was going to be chastised.

When Catelyn’s husband Ned was still living, the tradition in the Stark household called for monthly Sunday dinners. Now that most of the Stark children were adults with busy schedules, they tried to meet each other every two months. Brienne was also included on this tradition. She was a Stark child by incident.

Even between the Sunday dinners though, she often visited Catelyn but since her pregnancy, those moments had become very scarce.

"Why are you hiding from me?"

"I'm not _hiding_!" The pitch of her tone was higher than usual and she knew Catelyn would catch on to that quickly.

Just how many Starks knew about her and Jaime Lannister now? Was it too late to also murder Sansa?

"Now, I'll see you Sunday and we're going to be grilling so shorts please because according to our weather app, it will be warmer than usual."

Fantastic. The heat.

Her biggest enemy besides the toilet or the smell of eggs and most recently ginger ale, was the heat. Some days she'd come in from work panting and out of breath, drenched in sweat. She prayed for the fall seasons but she knew by then her stomach would be full and she'd just be panting and sweating even more.

The moment Catelyn Stark would see her, she knew it was all over. Catelyn Stark would know. She would _know_.

“I’ll see you Sunday.”

And that was that.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Sunday afternoon, Brienne stood in the middle of her bathroom in a pair of white briefs and tank top. Her breasts were not sore today (thank goodness) but she could see the weight gain happening. It had only been a matter of days since she had last spoken with Catelyn so how did this happen?

Everything else was the same. Her naturally blond, almost platinum hair still curled just under her ears. The physical scars were still visible on her knees, the back of her legs, her right arm, the one just on her ribs, and her nose - the very distinct one was still there. But it didn't feel the same.

Her body was changing in ways she didn't think it could or should. Even with the baby book as her guide, she still found herself surprised at the new occurence with each day. Something or someone was holding the true Brienne hostage. Her breasts, gods help her, were getting larger - not noticeably, not to the common eye but she knew _her_ breasts and she knew _her_ hips and _her_ waist. It was all changing.

She slipped into a pair of jeans and t-shirt, comfortable with the idea that no one would notice the change and grateful her clothes were still fitting her. Catelyn said to wear shorts. Shorts? Never. She grabbed a pair of sneakers from the closet and slipped them on. Giving her reflection a one over, she was pleased with the results. Catelyn would never notice this.

But it was spotted immediately the moment she arrived.

Catelyn narrowed her eyes when Brienne came in with Sansa, who had run off to find her two year old niece to give hugs, kisses, and the bag of toys she purchased just for her.

"Where is little Lyanna?" Sansa asked as she passed up her mother without so much as a second glance.

"Hello to you too, dear daughter," Catelyn's curious eyes never left Brienne and slowly, they began to narrow.

Panic was settling in. This woman's stare was always piercing and intimidating and she always felt as though Catelyn was looking right through her.

"Do you realize that it's been over a month since I've seen you?" Her tone wasn't harsh but that didn't stop the guilt pooling in the pit of Brienne's stomach.

"Sorry that I've been missing in action," she apologized immediately.

"Come and give us a hug then," Catelyn held out an arm and she walked over, leaning down to hug the smaller woman with one arm.

"How far along are you?" She leaned back to gaze up at her.

Brienne widened her eyes and pulled away from the hug.

"Well... I..." she stammered, unsure of how to answer.

"And where the hell have you been?" Arya Stark's voice cut through the conversation like a knife. Brienne was thankful for it, she was saving her from the quiet wrath of Catelyn Stark.

"Careful, Arya," Catelyn warned, her eyes on Brienne.

She couldn't even look her in the eye.

"Careful? It's just Brienne."

Catelyn cut her eyes at the teenager. Brienne was confident that she was referring to Arya's constant swearing and not Brienne's sensitive state.

"Sorry, mom." Bran, Arya, and Rickon's American accents were always jarring to Brienne. "Hey, Jon is here and he's in the backyard playing football with Lyanna. Sansa's pouting because she says girls shouldn't be doing such things but what does Sansa know?"

Let's see, Sansa knew that Jaime Lannister had been secretly meeting with Brienne for the past year and a half and managed to not only dump her but do it on the same day she found out she was pregnant.

"We are not done talking," Catelyn called out to Brienne as she let herself be dragged away by the much smaller Arya Stark.

Now Arya was rambling excitedly, so much so that Brienne couldn't keep up. She was struggling with the thought of Catelyn Stark's amazng knack for intimidating even her with just a look and tone. Would she know that Jaime Lannister was also the father?

"...and apparently he's got this brewery that he wants to create with Jon and Jon is so excited about it. He's huge! Still not as tall as you obviously but I told him that you could kick his ass in any sport and he didn't believe me. But now that you're here you can show him who's boss, isn't that right?"

She looked up at Brienne expectantly and all Brienne could say was, "I don't know..."

"You don't know?" Arya blinked at that answer.

The girl never understood phrases like 'I don't know' and words like 'no'.

She was headstrong and a fighter and in many ways reminded Brienne of herself. When she had come to America to stay with the Starks, Arya and Rickon were just babies but she spent so much of her time with them that in some strange way they were her babies, too.

"It's not that, it's just that I haven't been feeling well and I-"

She could feel eyes on her and it made her stop mid-sentence. On the other side of the large backyard, sat a wild-haired ginger man with an even wilder and if possible, redder beard on the bench. He wore ripped faded jeans and a plaid shirt that had been washed one too many times, and work boots despite it being eighty degrees outside. The best way to describe him was scruff, he was the epitome of it. He moved from the bench to stand next to Robb, who was watching Jon play in the yard with Lyanna while Sansa fussed loudly and Talisa laughed her head off about it.

The wild-haired ginger man was gaping at her like she had grown three heads. She looked over her shoulder to make doubly sure he wasn't, perhaps looking at someone else but when she turned back around he was now smiling.

Oh, fantastic.

He tapped Robb on the arm, his eyes never leaving her and Robb turned in Brienne's direction. She could see the exchange.

 _Oh, that's just Brienne_. Robb would say. Then he'd add, _she's basically our sister_. Which was fairly true. _Yes, she's always been that tall._ It almost always came next in the long list of questions people had about her. Did she play basketball? Or soccer? Or rugby? And every other possible thing under the sun connected with being tall. But modeling? It was never modeling and though she did do everything under the sun but model, it's not because she couldn't.

But that was ridiculous and really nothing to get worked up about but somehow, she always did. Sort of.

Brienne spent most of her years (eighteen, to be exact) living with her father but when school was over and womanhood hit like a fifty pound sledgehammer she was on a plane, going to university in a country she had never visited before in her life. She had physically lived with Ned and Catelyn Stark for two years until she managed to wrangle a job as an EMT and move into her own apartment that was eventually also occupied by Jon and Sansa when they felt they were ready for their own independence.

After Robb finished giving the man whatever brief introduction he could about her, the man turned back to Brienne and sighed - he actually sighed, and she felt her stomach tighten at the thought.

It definitely did not turn and even she could not deny that.

She was taller than him, that she knew even with him standing a distance from her but those things never bothered her. On an average day, she was taller than most men she knew. She was taller than Jaime and that never stopped anything.

Behind those goofy looks and expressive eyebrows, Brienne saw that he was handsome. She liked that the transitional ombre his light hair had down to his flame colored beard. Inwardly, she jokingly thought that perhaps that's where the fire was. Then, realizing how she meant the joke, Brienne looked down at Arya. She was still talking and placing Brienne on a pedestal that she felt she did not deserve to be.

Arya was still speaking very grandly of all the amazing things Brienne could do and her eyes briefly snapped up and right back down so he wouldn't catch her staring. Her breasts were tender and sore and really, it wasn't helping  _anything._

According to the baby book, these feelings were perfectly normal. There was no need to feel guilty for the slightly indecent thoughts she had about the wild haired ginger man across from her. Curse him for even looking at her _that_ way and curse her for feeling those _things_. When would this period of the pregnancy be over with?

"Anyway, his name is Tormund and he thinks he's a better athlete than you and for that I think he's a big, stupid idiot."

"Arya, that isn't polite," Brienne realized he was walking over towards them. _Ohgod_.

"You're right, I wouldn't be able to take her on at all," Tormund, as she now knew his name, addressed Arya first then turned to Brienne.

She was sure, given her current status that he could take her on and win. Sadly, she wasn't sure if she was talking about recreational sports or otherwise. She was definitely talking about the otherwise. It was hormones and really the baby's fault. That's right, Brienne. Just blame the baby.

This too shall pass, she hoped wistfully as he held out his hand with a goofy grin to match.

"Name's Tormund. Nice to meet you."

"Brienne." She lifted her hand to shake his. His hand shake was as strong as his hand was warm and that really did help nothing.

"Beautiful name," he was still holding her hand. She couldn't place his accent but she knew that like her, he was not originally from here.

"Thank you," she eyed him cautiously while slowly pulling her hand away.

If he could just stop looking at her like some idiot, she could hold a normal conversation with him. It was almost impossible not to glare at those eyebrows and that smile that was hidden behind layers of facial hair. His hair was unkempt and not in the _I'm doing this on purpose because I want to impress everyone_ way either. He genuinely looked like he had not put a comb to his hair.

Pregnant and horny Brienne found this ...impressive.

Just thinking about the last man who made her feel that creeping heat of desire got her pregnant was enough to calm her down. The man hadn't even proposed anything, it was the eyes. He looked at her differently than most men. It was unnerving.

"Arya tells me you are the best basketball player she's ever seen."

"I wouldn't say all that but I did play it in uni."

That had been some time ago.

"Never went to secondary school," his fingers slipped through one of the belt loops of his torn jeans and she successfully managed not to let her eyes slip there, "but I met Jon a year after he finished."

So he had known Jon for years.

"Seems like a lot of fuss about nothin' if you ask me. All that money for a sheet of paper just to show proof that you can work a job."

"I doubt a doctor would agree with you on that," Brienne said in a deadpan tone.

Thank the gods he was freely speaking stupidly, she could feel her hormones decrease.

"That's what I say," Arya agreed, "I mean, I want to be an EMT like Brienne used to be anyway. You don't really need a college degree for that."

Tormund's eyes lit up.

"I did that to pay student loans and you are still going to school. This is neither an argument or a debate," she spoke sternly. She really wished they didn't have this conversation in front of this complete stranger.

"You were an EMT?" There seemed to be nothing more interesting to him in the world.

Arya narrowed her eyes and looked between the two of them.

Lyanna ran past the trio flailing and squealing jovially as Jon chased behind her, imitating a very terrible dinosaur. He stopped when he reached Brienne and grabbed her by the hand to pull her into a tight hug. He was out of breath and sweaty but the look on his face was pure bliss and she couldn't fault him. And though she never thought of herself as an overly affectionate person, it didn't stop the Stark family from giving her tons of hugs.

"Haven't seen you in months!"

Jon never ceased to make her smile. Tormund happily rocked on the balls of his feet while she and Jon talked.

"I'm back in town for good this time," he nodded his head at Brienne's surprise at this and then looked at his friend, "Tormund and I found some great space and we're opening a brewery together."

"Arya told me," she was glad Jon was here to direct her attention to something else other than the man standing next to her.

"Well, I was wondering if you could help us out."

With a nod of her head, he continued.

"You know, you've always been good with budgeting and given my track record..."

There were many times when they were roommates Brienne found herself chiding Jon for being late with his portion of the rent. That was one of the main reasons Sansa had become a third roommate.

"What I meant to say is that Tormund and I," as if on cue, the shaggy hair next to her shook furiously as he nodded, "would love some budgeting advice and help. Obviously we can't pay you but-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jon. We'll pay the woman anything she needs." How was he still smiling?

Brienne sighed, "You don't have to pay me anything. You're family."

Jon pumped a fist and smiled to himself.

"But I am moving soon and I will need plenty help with that."

"It'd be our pleasure."

"Indeed, our pleasure," Tormund put his hand to his chest and she could see the lining of his biceps through the plaid shirt he wore. She looked away and spotted Lyanna being scooped up by Robb who peppered her in kisses.

Robb announced that it was time to eat and Brienne couldn't be too happy at that news.

As it turned out, everything on her plate disgusted her and made her just a bit nauseous so she settled for slices of tomato instead. Normally, she hated the taste and texture of tomatoes but this evening they did just the trick. She really did want to thank the genius that got the idea to put salt, pepper, and just a bit of cilantro on it. Every bite was heavenly and she was stifling moans at this point. When she did look around the table, she was met with Arya looking at her with disgust. Their common enemy was tomatoes but apparently, no more...

Then the strangest thing happened. Arya's look of repulsion changed to one of intrigue and she was about to ask her something but everything was stopped by Catelyn.

Lyanna sat with her grandmother, while Talisa's eyes constantly shifted in her direction. Brienne wondered briefly how Talisa truly felt being so far away from her own family and dealing with a mother-in-law that only tolerated her because she'd given birth to the first Stark grandchild.

"Jon, where did you two meet?"

Brienne's eyes went to her plate as Jon talked about meeting Tormund when he spent time in the Peace Corps and was stationed in Norway. While Jon spoke, Tormund kept his gaze on her.

After dinner and the sun set, Arya and Jon started up a game of soccer. She begged Brienne to join her but she sat this one out as the burping and farting had begun again. Slightly secluded from Catelyn, Sansa, and Talisa she allowed herself to let this gaseous phase pass. There could be nothing more worse than this.

The teams were set up with Jon, Robb, and Arya vs Tormund, Bran, and Rickon. She thought Tormund was at a disadvantage with Rickon, who only ran in a straight line across the field. And no matter how many times Brienne coached him not to, he just simply could not switch up his moves.

Despite his stature, Tormund moved surprisingly with ease. He dodged easily between the two eldest Stark brothers and when Arya rounded on him with her swift trickster moves, he returned the favor with a few of his own and spun around in a circle with the ball still in his possession. For a moment, he looked lke a dancer. He gave it a hard kick and Bran gave a loud whoop when their team scored. Talisa and Sansa playfully booed and little Lyanna joined in with them.

Tormuned spotted Brienne and paused on the field, tossing her wink which made her scoff loudly. Jon was absolutely tickled pink by this display. Robb ran past him kicking the ball and the other team scored thanks to Tormund's little or should it be very _tall_ distraction _._

He dropped to his knees and shook his fists in the air, dramatically wailing. His jeans clung to his thighs and she looked away, shaking her head. It was the hormones. That's all, just hormones.

But even she knew that was a lie.


	4. Another Little Piece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pregnancy is going to develop rapidly. It's not that I don't appreciate the joys of motherhood but my goal is to get the baby here and have these two crazy kids fall in love ALSO - not that I'm an oracle or anything but I wrote this chapter before Tormund's conversation with Sandor, so he and Theon's conversation in this chapter was completely on my own doing and not related to the Beyond the Wall episode. Maybe I'm on to something with my blind confidence that these two will get together on the show. Once again, can't thank you guys enough for joining me on this journey! I apologize in advance for the slow, slow burn. LOL.

"Do you hear it?" Dany asked very gently, moving the wand over Brienne's blink-and-you'd-miss-it bulge. Loud pats, thumps, and swishes... Was that really the heartbeat?

"I... I do," she smiled.

"Just there," Dany pointed to the screen and Brienne followed her perfectly manicured finger, "is the baby's head. Look at the movement."

"I can't feel anything," Brienne spoke softly. She was still accepting the idea of a beating heart inside her.

"Well, it's still so small so you won't feel movement but by your next visit you'll have felt plenty going on inside there. And you'll know the sex of the baby, too."

If this was a routine that bored her, Brienne couldnt tell. Dany seemed more delighted about it than she expected a doctor that looked at sonograms all day, beautiful miracle though it may be.

Brienne nodded her head, still watching the activity seemingly going on inside her without her knowing. It was terrifying and beautiful and mad and _perfect_.

 

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On her moving day and well into her fifth month, Brienne was pleased to find that Jon and his group of friends all arrived early and were ready to help in any way they could. Sansa stood on the steps leading up to Brienne's apartment wearing sunglasses, jeans, a faded t-shirt, and Doc Marten's. Leave it to her to be fashionable even on a moving day. Brandon and Rickon offered their services but they both had chess and soccer tournaments so they were absent today. Arya was …well, she still hadnt fully adjusted to the announcement of Briennes pregnancy.

"You guys are so amazing and I can't thank you all enough. Some of them looked tired, slightly hungover even but they were here and ready to help her. "You even provided a truck to move things on."

"Nope," Jon smiled, "Tormund's taking care of that. He should be here soon."

As if on cue, a large and very noisy black truck came down the street. The pollution that thing had to be producing… and it looked like an older model. There was no way he drove through traffic in that monster every day.

She recognized DMX's _X Gon Give It To Ya_ coming from his radio immediately.

"It's seven in the morning," she whispered to no one as he turned off his truck, loud music disappearing with it. Was he serious? Surely, he couldn't have been serious.

"Mornin'!" He shouted jovially, stepping down from the truck, his eyes on no one but Brienne. She could tell and so could everyone around them. It didnt seem to matter to him who looked at his displays, even if it embarrassed her maybe just a little bit. Well, it embarrassed her a lot but she was great at pretending.

Though there were no rips in his jeans this time, although there was a fade to them and he wore a black shirt with a picture of a polar bear dancing on it. Tattoos decorated his arms, dancing their way up until they were hidden by his sleeves and Brienne decided he was just doing this on purpose now.

"Good morning," Sansa flipped crimson tresses over her shoulder and turned to Brienne, pulling her glasses down on her nose, "not that he was talking to the rest of us.

Brienne rolled her eyes and gave Sansa a light shove.

"Do shut up," was her diplomatic response.

Hours passed by as Brienne all but watched them move boxes and all the heavy items like they were light as a feather. She ordered which was breakable, even groaned a couple of times because she was sure some of the more fragile things were getting smashed. It was the only power Brienne had as she promised Sansa she wouldn't lift one thing. An annoying thing about being pregnant: reminding everyone that she was in fact, still a human that did things.

Sansa's ex-boyfriend Theon showed up to help a little later in the day and Brienne reveled in the awkward exchange between the pair. Yes, reveled because Sansa was constantly trying to spark a conversation between Brienne and Tormund. Thankfully, Jon kept him busy lifting Brienne's heaviest items.

She watched in silence as he, Jon, and Gendry (a friend of Aryas) lift her couch onto the back of the truck and the muscles in his arm flexed in a most gratifying way. Only an idiot would ignore the primal sexiness in a man like Tormund.

Salt-N-Pepa's _Whatta Man_ suddenly blasted from behind her and she turned around to see Sansa holding up her cell phone playing the music loudly. Briennes eyes shot daggers in her direction but she only doubled over with laughter.

"Will you _please_ …" she walked over to the woman and Sansa simply shrugged, still playing the song obnoxiously loud. Brienne jerked the phone from her and struggled to turn it off. It didn't matter either way because whens he looked back up, Tormund was grinning at her.

When they reached her new place, a cozy but _large enough_  apartment that was closer to her job and deeper in her pockets, the guys attempted to organize things for her as best they could. Jon said he wanted to make the move as easy for her as possible. There were few men like Jon in the world.

On the second floor there was a master bedroom, one bathroom, and of course the secondary room which would belong to the baby. Downstairs, there was a small bathroom and a den, which she decided would also belong to the baby until she adjusted to motherhood then it would become her office. Everything was planned nicely and neatly.

As she placed all her glassware into their respective places in the cabinets, she felt eyes on her. It was reaching a point in her life when she knew whose eyes it was… With two glasses in each hand, she turned to find him standing in the doorway of the kitchen watching her. The eyebrow that one on his right was arched higher than normal and it was comical.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Jon and Gendry were joking amidst the background noise of everyone else moving things and items. Sansa walked past carrying a box that was labeled **TOILETRIES** in Briennes hurried scrawl.

When she didnt say anything, he continued on.

"I mean to say that something is different about you. I notice things."

"You've only known me for a month, how would you notice things?"

Could it be that someone besides Podrick would be able to find just the right buttons to push that could send her into the Land of the Irritated?

"I'm just saying that there's something different."

"I never took you for the lady whisperer," she joked. The confused expression on his face was an indicator that he didn't understand her joke. "If you must know, I'm expecting-"

Tormund's eyes went wide and leaned forward, "You're having a  _baby_?" He seemed positively delighted about the news. 

Brienne nodded her head as he congratulated her. Repeatedly. She couldn't help the small smile that spread on her lips.

"Are you... I mean to say... is the father around?"

Normally, Brienne's defenses would have been up. She would have told him that it was none of his business, and follow it with something along the lines of how he could get out of her kitchen. She didn't though. In fact, she felt completely comfortable with giving him the truth.

With a slight shake of her head, Tormund held his arms out and her eyes scanned over the tattoos on his arms again.

"What can you do? It's his loss, really. I'd say that he would have been really lucky to have you in his life, if that's not being too forward."

Being too forward seemed to be his thing but he was being sweet and she really didn't want to spoil the moment.

"Thank you," she replied softly, her grip on the glasses tightening just a bit.

He stood there, facing her, his eyes moving over her. As he opened his mouth to say something else, Jon walked in on this oddly bonding encounter between the two of them. He tossed Tormund a knowing expression and already, it was over. Brienne turned away from them, putting the glasses in the cabinet.

"We were having a moment, you fuck."

Oh, his vulgarity. Oh,  _him_.

"Well, now that you're done bonding, you think you can come back and help us move, darling?"

Tormund smiled at Jon as he walked away then turned back to Brienne.

"I just love things like that. Motherhood, that is. There is nothing more beautiful than the blessing of a miraculous little bundle."

It was sweet of him to say that but really, he wasn't experiencing the gas, heartburn, vomiting, diarrhea (which was the _worst_ of times), and mood swings. However, she accepted his compliment just the same.

"That's very nice of you."

After a long day of moving, the group sat around eating pizza (courtesy of Brienne) and laughing at Jon and Tormund's storytelling about their past antics when they first became best friends. On his own, Tormund had taken down a box and a half with no help. Sansa had since left them all, much to Theon's disappointment. Brienne couldn't feel too sorry for him since Sansa told her quite confidently that he dumped her because his father didn't approve of them. Men could truly be idiots.

Speaking of which, Jon was telling them all a story (apparently, one of many) about how Tormund nearly died, almost falling to his death from some wall he was climbing.

"By the time I was actually reaching the ladder, this idiot was trying to climb the bloody thing like Spider-Man!" Jon jerked a thumb at Tormund and everyone laughed loudly. 

"How have you not died yet?" Theon asked him through his laughter.

Tormund looked off in thought and pursed his lips, "I guess it's the one thing I'm  _not_ good at!" 

They all laughed harder.

Brienne shook her head, a small smirk on her face listening to them talk. Quite suddenly, she felt it. This wasn't gas or indigestion or any of those other strange things that reared their ugly heads late in the evening.  _That_ was the baby moving inside her. A small gasp escaped her lips and none of the guys noticed except Tormund of course. Nothing got past that one. He watched her closely but she kept her eyes on her stomach, pretending not to notice him. It was impossible to focus on anything else the rest of the night.

"I think we should probably leave now. It's getting late and I'm sure Brienne wants all these smelly men out of her place now."

"I won't argue with that," she replied, pushing herself up from the couch and freezing when a large hand reached out for her to take. She could either grab it or wheeze loud enough that she got the attention of everyone else. 

"It's just my hand," he teased.

She quietly fussed but took his hand anyway and he pulled her up with ease but gently. She stood next to him as the awkward silence wedged its way between them. How was he so good at making her feel strange around him? Then he did those glances that always made her feel like she was the only person in the room. It made her feel... weird? Strange? Admired? Confused.

Unable to take the silence, she finally spoke.

"Thank you for helping with the move. I know that I'm helping you and Jon with your business and the budgeting but I don't know what I would have done without you all today." She folded her hands and looked down at her feet, quite proud of her ankles for they were not swollen. _Ha, take that baby book_!

"Woulda' done it anyway," he stated. "Do you need help cleaning or anything?"

"Oh?" Brienne looked at the mess they created and turned back to him, "Oh no, I'll be fine. I'll clean this up before you can say  _boo_."

And then he said "boo" and laughed at his own joke.

"Alright Casanova, let's get out of here." Jon clapped him on the shoulder and nodded at Brienne. She did the same in return and saw them all out. 

With a deep regret, she turned to the mess that awaited her and sighed loudly. The mess they left behind was intimidating and with the baby moving, she didn't think she could handle this. In fact, she  _knew_ she couldn't handle this. Six months ago, she wouldn't have been able to go to bed without cleaning this up but that was before someone else was growing inside her, sucking the energy from her like some soul eating parasite. 

Brienne kicked off her sandals and reached under her shirt to unhook her bra in the back but froze when there was a knock on the door. If it was Tormund, she was going to kill him.

"Un-bloody-believable," she murmured.

But it wasn't Tormund and her cross expression softened immediately when she saw that it was Arya standing there with a gift back in her hand. Pastels and baby animals. This was going to be Brienne's life for the next three to five years.

"It's not a gift for you, it's for the baby," Arya stated the obvious and headed inside the apartment.

Her attempt at an apology consisted of her cleaning up the mess Jon and his friends left behind.

"The place is pretty nice," she wiped down a table and folded the towel neatly over a chair.

Brienne nodded her head as she rubbed the side of her stomach.

"Baby giving you the shits?" Arya teased.

"Language and no, actually it's doing a lot of moving and the moment I realized, it hasn't stopped."

Arya nodded her head.

"Would you like to accompany me to the doctor tomorrow?" She asked suddenly. "I'll probably be finding out the sex of the baby. That should be exciting!"

"It better be a boy."

She laughed and stole a look at the goodies Arya brought in the bag. There was a stuffed wolf and some blankets tucked inside.

"Let's go put these things in the baby's room. It's completely empty and you are the first person to christen it." She pulled out the little wolf and put it next to her face and turned to Arya, grinning.

"Well let's go put it in the little jerk's room then," Arya laughed.

" _That_ is inappropriate," Brienne stated but the humor in her voice made her tone very lighthearted.

" _Babies_ are inappropriate," Arya responded as they headed up the stairs to the baby's room.

 

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She was lying on her back, right arm casually folded behind her, dressed and ready for Dany, while Arya sat in a chair with her arms folded neatly under her. The previous night, she crashed in Brienne's bed while the pair fell asleep as Netflix blared and bright light shone in their faces.

"Don't be nervous," Brienne assured her calmly. "There's nothing to be worried about. We're just going to find out the sex of the baby and then after, we can go get ice cream."

"You don't even like ice cream," Arya protested.

"Yeah, not lately though," Brienne admitted. It was such a pleasing thought. Ice cream wasn't originally a friend of her stomach and she had the biggest issue with lactose based products but since the pregnancy, she was turning into a giant dairy machine. All this consumption could now be done without getting ill.

Dany walked in, immediately putting on the gloves.

"Hi, Brienne. Hi-"

"Arya."

"Hi, Arya. It's a pleasure to meet you. So, Lady Brienne, today is the day we find out who's in there making all that movement you keep telling me about. Exciting!" She smiled and the gloves snapped on her wrists as she put them on.

As she prepared Brienne for her sonogram, she explained in detail the course of today's visit. Usually in times like this, Arya would have a million and one questions but her nerves had gotten the better of her so she sat and listened to Dany's breakdown. 

"So do we want to know the sex of the baby?"

Brienne looked to Arya and perked her eyebrows. The younger womannodded and Brienne turned back to Dany and nodded her head.

The sound of  _her_ baby's heart beating would always be the most fascinating sound in the world to her. No longer did she come into Dany's office with trepidation and fear at whatever new thing was awaiting her. It was no denial to anyone, least of all Brienne, that she could be quite stubborn. With each stepping stone, no matter how great or small, she had to take a backseat this whether it be physical or emotional. And she had no choice but to let it happen.

"Would you like a closer look?" Dany looked over her shoulder at Arya.

She was hesitant at first but after some silent contemplation, she got up from the chair and walked over to stand next to Brienne.

"So Arya, what you're hearing is the baby's heartbeat. I know it doesn't sound like one but that's because of this machine." Brienne's eyes were back on the screen watching the baby move around.

"Oh look at that," Dany said softly and moved the wand gently over Brienne's stomach.

"Is that...?" Arya sounded very concerned.

"I should hope not," Brienne responded immediately. "That's the baby's arm, Arya."

Dany laughed and moved the wand just a bit more, "That's his arm but  _this_ is his penis."

Brienne squinted her eyes and leaned forward. There it was alright: her son's penis. She nodded her head and lay back down, looking up to the ceiling and released a low breath. She was having a boy.

"Told you it was a boy," Arya said smugly.

When she arrived home Arya-less, Brienne headed right for the kitchen to pull out her sonogram photos. She looked at them one by one, holding them to the light and examining them. In the quiet and emptiness of her apartment, a wide grin spread across her face. She pinned the photos to the refrigerator with a magnet shaped like Jamaica. Pride swelled in her heart as she examined them for what must have been hours.

The images of little fat legs running through grass filled her mind, blond curls bouncing... perhaps with eyes like hers and his father's smile. She could see her own long legs chasing behind him, scooping him up into her arms and peppering him with kisses. It was the greatest feeling in the world. She was ready for this now. She knew she was.

Her cell phone rang and she pulled it from her back pocket to find it was Tormund calling. This man and his timing.

"What on earth could he possibly want?" 

With a sigh, she answered the phone, "What do you want?" She more or less repeated herself.

"You're smart, yes?"

She liked to think most times she was but things got a bit shaky when it came to the men she fell in love with.

"Sometimes," she answer truthfully. He thought that was pretty funny.

"Well, I need your smarts. Jon and I ordered a package for the brewery and I'm pretty sure it was stolen. I'm seeing it was delivered but I'm seeing no package. We still haven't worked out the mailing system. I figure if they hear the sweet, beautiful, feminine voice of a woman that they'll be more willing to help."

"You're mad," Brienne whispered.

"Mad and broke if we're being honest. They're refusing to refund me."

"And where is Jon?"

"Jon's at work and I can't get hold of him. Plus, I would prefer it if you put the feminine touch on this. Everyone at the Bolton company is a nasty group of pissheads. They were cheap though and oh, how I have learned my lesson. If they here a girl talking all smart and whatnot on the phone, they'll change their tune."

Not Sansa. Not Catelyn. Her. He was just bothering her at this point.

"And if I do this will you promise to never call me again?"

"Course not!" He replied with more laughter. 

Her loud sigh made him laugh harder.

"Fine, I'll help you. Just send me all the information I need. Not only will I get your money refunded but I'll also get your package for you."

"You could do all that for me?"

"Well they're clearly trying to get over on you. It's the least I can do."

"Ah! You're an angel sent from the heavens. No, a goddess."

Brienne shook her head but she did smile a little at his groveling.

"I promise I'll never call you again."

Neither of them knew just how big that lie was yet.


	5. Cold Chicken and Bear Tattoos: A Love Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the shortest chapters in the story but it's also the most Brienne/Tormund centric part yet!
> 
> While I have your attention, I started another fanfic that is completely different from this one. It's just smut smut smut. As always, thank you guys so much for reading/reviewing. You don't know how much it's appreciated and keeps me going!. Thanks!

Four months. Five Months. Six Months. Seven.

"Bloody hell," she whispered, looking at the wet circles on her shirt.

This was not the first time this happened but it always startled her each time it did. Nevermind the fact that her breasts were roughly the size of grapefruits at this point. Dramatic, yes, but they were growing at the same rate the Grinch's heart grew on Christmas Day.

Naively and very stupidly, she thought that maybe she wouldn't actually show until the ninth month of her pregnancy.

"Every pregnancy is different," Catelyn had said one Sunday evening while they sat side by side. Brienne sat next to her enjoying a plate of cookies baked especially for her. This was her fifth cookie and she felt nothing but pure bless with each bite she took.

"When I was pregnant with Robb, I didn't show right until the end. Blew up like a whale with Bran and nothing with Sansa or Arya."

There was nothing comforting about any of this information.

And then Tormund ran past with a ball in his arms and Jon hot on his tail. He wasn't going to catch him. He tossed her a wink as he ran past and she openly scoffed, turning her face away from him.

That was his thing now, winking and playing with her whenever he was in her presence. It happened so often now that it was common. If she didn't see him at the Stark Sunday dinners, then she saw him when she visited their dusty warehouse they were transforming into a brewery and bar. They used the money from Jon's inheritence (he'd lost both his parents when he was a baby) and money Tormund saved from his many odd jobs. There was nothing the man couldn't do. His latest stint was bartending. He promised to get her 'proper drunk' after she had the baby. And she promised him that was never happening.

Although, she did miss the taste of a good brew on her tongue. And with the seventh month here and her breasts swelling to an inconceivable size, the entirely new wardrobe of materinity wear because she could no longer fit anything in her closet, and her constant internal struggle on whether or not she wanted to kill or hug Podrick... a drink could fix a lot of her current problems.

Could it fix her most stagnant problem?

Tormund had forced a friendship between them, she had no choice but to accept his place in her life now. He was at her apartment every other night (when he wasn't bartending or being an Uber driver or god knows what else) and currently, he was knocking while she stared at her colostrum stained breasts.

She grabbed the robe that hung over the door and wrapped it around her, groaning at her portruding stomach.

Not even bothering to ask who it was, she pulled the door open and pursed her lips at him. He stood there with his trademark grin and expressive eyebrows.

"One day I won't be here and you'll be standing outside the door looking like an idiot."

"Joke's on you, I already look like one. I needed some advice on something."

That was another thing, she wasn't just helping them with their budget because she was good with numbers but she was now also helping them make decisions when they had disagreements. It was almost as though she was a partner. Unpaid. But then, between the two of them they still wouldn't be able to afford her.

There was no point in turning him away, was never a point so she nodded and let him inside. He sat at the kitchen table and pulled out his phone. Brienne waddled, yes she was also waddling now into the kitchen and peered into her refridgerator. She pulled out an already cooked rotisserie chicken and the large gallon of water she now forced herself to drink.

"Oh, no thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Who on earth said this was for you?" She sat across from him and without a fork or knife in hand, she pulled a leg from the cold chicken and tore the meat from it with her teeth.

He stared at her for a moment, seemingly transfixed by her dietary choices and she raised her eyebrows and pulled the chicken leg away from her lips, "Is there a reason you're here?"

"Right," he shook his head and flicked his thumb over the screen over the phone. She looked at his large hand cradling the small phone and it looked comical. His hands were just so large. Surely, he had killed someone with them before. The thought almost made her laugh aloud.

He passed the phone over to her and she looked at the photos.

"What am I actually looking at, Tormund?"

He chuckled and moved his chair close to hers, leaning his wild ginger hair closer to her slick, blond mane and slipped his finger over the screen. It scrolled through countless images of these large silver canisters with tubes connected to them.

"They're kegs to help with the brewing."

"Ah," she nodded, already not caring but listening anyway. "So what is your question."

"Well this one here," he zoomed in on it, "is popular but expensive. Jon says go ahead and get it but also Jon - he knows nothing, really."

That made Brienne chuckle and Tormund looked at her with a smile, proud of himself for making her laugh. She immediately wiped the smile from her face and focused her attention back to his phone.

"This one is from an old company and it's just as expensive but this company has been making kegs since before we were all born. I think we should go with it. Jon says go with the newer company because they have newer technology but that shit doesn't mean anything when your ale is tasting quite literally like piss and you're losing business."

"I say you buy one of each," she shrugged and pushed the phone back to him.

"One of each. Woman, are you mad?"

"Well why did you ask my opinion then?" She went back to her chicken, swallowing it almost in loving bites. It tasted so damn good.

"You know what? You're right!" He slammed his hand down on her table. The baby moved at the large thump on the table and she made a face at him.

"Your boorishness is upsetting my baby."

He looked at her stomach then his eyes trailed up to stop at her breasts. Men were something else, really. And then to her face.

"Still counting the kicks every day like you're supposed to?"

"I didn't know you were as skilled at being a doctor as you are an Uber driver."

The snide comment didn't get a reaction from him.

"Listen, I have four sisters and about twelve nieces and nephews. If there's something I know, it's babies."

Brienne pulled at her robe and sighed, "I'm counting the kicks."

"Lamaz class."

"Oh gods, do you mind your own business?"

"I told you. We're friends now. Your business is my business. How is building the crib coming along?"

"It's fine," she was lying and she could could tell that he knew she was lying, too.

"Really?!" His eyes went wide and he jumped up from the table, "Can I see?" He sounded like a child.

"Well, no because the room-" but he was already up from the table and down the hallway. It took her a while but she got up from the chair eventually. She only just realized how uncomfortable these chairs were. She'd like to have a word or two with the creator because they obviously had never been pregnant before.

"Isn't finished," she added quietly, making her way into the baby's bedroom.

Tormund turned to face her with a grin. He stroked his beard in deep thought then laughed. It was a deep, bellowing laugh and Brienne felt something stir in her stomach. She couldn't blame that feeling on the baby.

"I'm going to help you," he stated matter-of-factly and rolled up his sleeves. Her eyes went to his tattoos and she looked at the designs, shapes, and was that actually a bear? She was curious? Possibly enamored?

He looked at his arms and then at her, "Don't worry, I'll tell you about that on our first date."

"I am in my third trimester and you're still hitting on me," she replied dryly.

"Nothing more beautiful than a woman swelling with the gift of life. Especially a woman like you."

Brienne stood in silence for a moment, her arms folded over her stomach. He turned away from her and dropped down to his knees, dividing the parts of the crib. If his hair was a wild mess from the front it was an understatement seeing it in back. And yet, she couldn't imagine it any other way.

"I'm going to shower and get dressed. While you're working on the crib I'm going to get some work done. If you need anything..."

"I'll bug you," he repsonded, not looking up from the crib.

With a nod, she left and headed to her bedroom.

The only sound in the house right now were her fingertips tapping rapidly against the keys of her computer. Her days at the office were being cut shorter and now she spent every other day during the work week at home. When it was a day that she dedicated to responding to emails from clients, she spent most of her time in corrsepondence with Podrick as he asked her several questions throughout the day. Most times he knew the answers to his own questions but she assumed that with gained confidence he wouldn't bother her as much eventually.

Hopefully.

"How long you been tapping at that damn thing?"

Startled, Brienne looked up from her laptop to find Tormund's sleeves rolled up higher. She tole a glance at the bear tattoo when he wasn't paying attention. She was intrigued about it.

"About as long as you've been in here destroying my crib."

"Well, we'll see about that."

He took her by the hand and walked her down the hallway and stepped behind her. He released her hand and she realized she missed it the moment he let it go. Her attention went to the finished crib in the bedroom and her mouth fell open.

"Not that I needed you to do this but... thank you," and she genuinely meant the thanks.

"What color you painting the room?" He rolled his sleeves down.

"I don't know, I was thinking that yellow would be nice."

"Yellow is the color of piss," Tormund responded with no hint of indignation in his voice. In fact, he said it like it was a common fact that Brienne seemed to have missed out on learning when she was a child.

Accosted, Brienne made a face at him.

"What?! What color do you think it should be then since you know so well?"

"Well, it depends..." he pointed it to the crib, "you got a cherry oak for the crib. Yellow wouldn't look good with that. Why not do a green?"

"It doesn't really matter what you think anyway, it's my baby and I'll paint whatever color I like."

"Even if it's the color of piss," he looked at her with a smile.

"And why do you even care?"

"Because I do."

In their silence, his stomach growled loudly and he perked his eyebrows in surprise.

"What's for lunch?" He pat his stomach which in turn, got an eye roll from Brienne.

And that was how they had lunch together.


	6. Under Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took longer than I intended but I was in the process of getting a new computer and also editing this chapter. Also, I'm working on another Brienne/Tormund that I hope to get up soon. I ended up adding so many things in here. So glad y'all are still enjoying it. I'm going to preface this and just say now that there is no baby but Brienne's feelings are developing just like the bun in her oven. Thank you for all the reviews and kudos!

The baby’s room was coming along very nicely. Of course, it wouldn’t have happened without the help of her friends: old and new. Tormund, Jon, and Gendry installed an accent wall in the baby’s room made entirely of wood for Brienne and painted the facing wall with forest themed colors. Gendry’s artist skills came through and the shapes of the trees and animals made her heart soar. She wasn’t going to tell Tormund he was right about the colors of the walls.

But he was right.

If someone had told Brienne that she would be good friends with a man like Tormund Gianstbane, she would have found the very idea hilarious. She would have scoffed at them. Her immediate opinion of him was that he was boorish in nature, he had far too many tattoos, and his persistence was annoying, considering that she was _heavily_ pregnant.

Things were different now though. Very different.

She chalked his boorish demeanor up to him being free spirited and that wasn’t such a bad quality when she thought about it which really did lead up to the reason why he had so many tattoos. So what if he did? That was how he expressed himself. And despite the fact that she was heavy as a house and didn’t even bother to put on lip balm most days lately, it was nice to be desired.

“It’s amazing that you two still have money left, considering your terrible budgeting skills.”

She was now in the beginning of her eighth month and prayed for the day she would wake up to find a baby in her arms. It was more of a pressing matter than anything else, for her son loved to push down quite regularly on her bladder during the best and worst of time and sitting in this makeshift office with Jon and Tormund wasn’t helping much. The chair was uncomfortable and it was incredibly stuffy. Then there was the matter of these two looking at her like scolded puppies.

Babysitting their bad budgeting was a welcomed distraction.

The previous month consisted of strange dreams about the baby and there were quite a few. The recurring one, however was the one that involved her giving birth to an actual lion cub. Now that she was offering free bookkeeping advice and services, she dreamed of some generic rosy faced cherub bouncing around on clouds that were shaped like numbers.

“Yeah, that’s mostly my fault,” Jon admitted and then looked down at his work boots. Brienne noticed they were torn and dirty while his hands were stained with black smudge. What sort of work _wasn’t_ he doing to pay for this brewery? She knew that Tormund could practically do any job given to him. Both these men were very focused on this goal and she admired them for it. It was one of the reasons why she didn’t mind helping them.

“Don’t worry, I’m smart and I _can_ fix this.”

Tormund held out his arm, “I told him you could. I knew you could! I said _Jon, you gotta’ stop all this fuckin’ crying_. Brienne’s here to save the day.”

“I didn’t say I could save the day but I can fix this. What you really need is a bookkeeper on salary, a proper one.”

“We can just hire you,” Tormund said very genuinely, his eyes wide and full of hope.

Jon could only smile.

“You can’t afford me,” Brienne said matter-of-factly. Tormund laughed but she didn’t skip a beat, “I’m not joking, you can’t. But after you get this place going, I know a few people that would be great for the job at a cheaper price.”

She spent four years at a university and only just finished paying off the bit of student loans she did have. She was the assistant director of Budget and Event Planning and even her job could barely afford her, let alone these two with their shoeboxes of receipts.

Unsurprisingly, Tormund did not stop smiling.

“How long do you think it will take? I told Davos we’d try and get this back to him in a few weeks.”

“I don’t think it’ll take that long to go through this but bear with me.”

Now that Brienne was on maternity leave, she had plenty free time. When she wasn’t curled up asleep because this baby was sucking the energy from her like a vacuum, she was organizing his room. And now she could work with her first love: numbers.

“And I think that’s about it,” Jon looked to Tormund for confirmation and they nodded at each other.

“Fantastic,” she replied and placed her palm flatly on the surface of the table to stand. Tormund jumped up to come to her aid, holding out his large hand.

“You don’t have to do that every time. I’m more than capable of getting up from my seat.”

“I know you are and I never said you was but I’m just trying to help. That baby’s giving you enough grief.”

“He is not giving me _grief-_ ”

“Just let me help ya!”

He didn’t shout it or was even angry when he said it but there was a directness to his tone that made Brienne’s mouth snap shut and stare up at him with a surprised expression. Fine, she would take his bloody hand and not make a scene but they would need to have a conversation like adults about this constant need of his to do this. He was treating her like she was a baby when she was the person _carrying_ the baby.

“I’m just saying that you don’t always have to, you know.”

She could see Jon watching them closely out of the corner of her eye.

“Who said I had to do anything? I do it because I want to and I think by now that you of all people would know that.”

His voice was tender, almost pleading and Brienne softened at that. They gazed at each other for a moment, his green eyes pouring through her and making her heart pound furiously in her chest. When they realized that Jon was watching them they both rounded on him with fierce expressions that made him look away.

“I have to get back to work,” he eventually said when things became normal again.

“It’s six in the evening!” She fussed over him like any sister would about their brother. Not to mention, she depended on him being the one to give her a ride home.

“I’m sorry, Brienne, I know I was supposed to give you a lift but I picked up an extra shift. We need the money but Tormund can give you a ride.” He smiled as he said it.

Before a protest could be started, Tormund was already gathering up their literal shoeboxes of receipts and crumpled paperwork. He headed towards the exit then paused in the doorway to look over at her.

“You comin’?”

With a sigh, Brienne followed behind him.

“I didn’t know I was giving you a ride home or else I wouldn’t have come in the truck.” He turned to look at her after he put the boxes behind the seat on the driver’s side. “I know you said you didn’t need my help but you’re going to have to take a big step to get up in the truck.”

She only nodded in silence. He walked around to her side and put one hand on the small of her back and the other took her by the hand.

“On three, yes?”

She nodded again. He counted to three and lifted her with ease into the truck.

“Let’s drive responsibly,” she found her voice once she was seated in the truck. She put the seatbelt on, hating them now days because they always made her breasts uncomfortable beyond reason.

Tormund got in on his side and slammed the door shut.

“Let’s drive responsibly,” he mimicked her, looking ahead as he cranked the truck. The engine was loud and Brienne wasn’t exactly the car expert but she was sure that wasn’t the sound it was supposed to make but she could be polite.

“Is it supposed to sound like that?”

“No,” and with that, they were off.

Having made it safely home, Tormund followed Brienne inside and placed all the items on her coffee table. He was surprisingly a very good driver and it briefly occurred to her that maybe she was too hard on him.

Brienne slipped off her shoes, unable to hold back the pained groans that came from her lips. Her feet were killing her. They were swollen and disgusting. _She_ was swollen and disgusting. And from what she could see when she attempted to look down at them without breasts and stomach getting in the way were two tree stumps that used to be feet. Sansa kept saying that this was her cute stage of pregnancy? Cute because she had a round belly and gigantic breasts? Oh yes, she was absolutely freaking adorable… What was worse that even in her frustration, she couldn’t just plop down on the couch to mope. Yes, even self-pity was met with caution.

And then there was Jaime, who never truly left her mind despite all the attempts to block him in the best way she could. Get a new phone number, change housing, cut ties with him completely… all those things didn’t erase that his presence would be with her as long as this baby was being born. And she did wonder because she was in love with him - had been in love with him - how would he be as a father? Would he dote on her and get her strange foods? Would he be here now rubbing her aching feet?

“You alright?”

Brienne was yanked from her thoughts to find Tormund standing at the door looking concerned.

“I’m fine. It’s just been a long day and I’ve been on my feet for too long.”

He walked over and sat on the other end of the couch.

“You don’t need to stay here. I assure you that I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You were complaining about your feet and you know I don’t mind giving you a foot rub… if you need one.”

Brienne stiffened and she turned slowly to look at him. Gods only knew how tempting the offer was. Her feet felt like she had been dancing on needles all day.

“Foot rubs are nice. They help you relax and I only mean to offer my services because you do look like you might be in a little pain. I only want to help.”

And whatever agitation she may have had was slowly disappearing.

“Here,” Tormund leaned over and gently took one of her legs in his hand. The instant contact made Brienne feel that strange feeling in her stomach again. Great, now he was going to see her hideous feet, no that she actually cared. She tried to make a sound of protest but it came out like sputters and stutters and he was laughing and now she was embarrassed, blushing furiously.

“I’ll be gentle,” he said softly and took the other leg.

Relaxing against the couch, Brienne watched as he carefully paid attention to her feet. Strong hands cupped under her feet and applied gentle pressure. He tenderly began to knead his the bottom of his palms into her flesh and soon the remaining defiance in her was gone.

Her eyes fluttered closed and her toes curled then immediately relaxed as his knuckles pressed into the area that was once an arch. Settling onto the couch just a bit more, she let him take his time applying the care her feet so desperately needed.

“Isn’t that better?” His voice was soft and dangerously low. It was enough to pull a soft moan from her.

“ _Yes_ ,” she whispered. And then, quite immediately and without any warning, a soft rumble started in her throat that came out in the sound of a very satisfied moan through her lips.

His hands stopped after that sound, one foot in his large hand. Had he not stopped then maybe, just maybe she could have ignored whatever weird attraction was happening right now but he did stop and now she was stopping. And when she opened her eyes to look at him and he looked back with _that_ look it scared her.

Not because she was afraid of him but because she was afraid of what she would do. And there was no way she was doing this because she was pregnant - beyond pregnant and Tormund ….he was her friend. She learned a valuable lesson about developing feelings for a friend. Don’t.

“Thank you for the foot rub,” she suddenly said. “You know I’m just getting so tired and really, I should be getting to bed. I’ll see you later. I appreciate the ride and the foot rub. I really owe you one!”

Her feet were moving from his lap, he was looking confused, and she truly was tired now. Turning back to sit upright, Brienne put her hand flat on the arm of the couch and pushed herself up.

“Bri…” he pleaded and she realized she hated the way he said that. Hated it entirely.

“Goodnight, Tormund. No really, goodnight. Goodnight and thank you.”

She was saying goodnight an awful amount of times but was it was short and very much to the point. He didn’t protest and she was so grateful for that. He simply said goodnight in return and when he was finally gone, Brienne looked at the door like it was going to explode.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Brienne’s baby shower was held in the backyard of Catelyn Stark’s home. She didn’t know half the women here that were fawning over the welcoming of a new baby. She liked baby showers but attending one and being the one celebrated were vastly different concepts. Everyone kept interrupting her while she ate to ask her questions about the baby or congratulate her or passive aggressively try to pull out information about the father from her.

So far, the only people that had known were Catelyn, Sansa, and Arya and that was the way she wanted to keep it.

And there was the pressure of names, which she _still_ was unsure about. Brienne alluded to crafty lie that it was a secret and she would share it once he was born.

Most of the other people that she did know were her co-workers or women she met in the Lamaze class she attended with Sansa. She was surprised to see Podrick present but think that had little to do with her and more to do with Sansa. When he asked her if Sansa would be there, she looked at him like he was an idiot. Of course, Sansa would be there, she was her best friend! Then it dawned on her that Podrick was asking in his own awkward way because of what could only be described as an obvious crush.

Brienne wanted to offer good luck because that would never happen after the things Sansa dealt with dating Theon but when she saw Sansa sitting next to Podrick and talking in rapid speed while he looked on admirably, she thought that perhaps, Theon’s damage wasn’t too great. And that made her happy.

Arya only came because Brienne had all but begged her. When she was forced to play a game where women wrapped toilet paper around her to guess how much it would take to measure her stomach, she looked over to Arya and they both rolled their eyes. This game was ridiculous and seeing as she was a foot taller than most of the people in attendance, it made for a very awkward exchange.

When they weren’t making faces at each other throughout the baby shower, Arya walked around with a camera in her hand and snapped photos.

If it were up to Brienne, she would have accepted the gifts and continued to hide in her apartment but that wasn’t the way things worked. Catelyn told her she was absolutely not allowed to hide away like some ugly hermit because she wasn’t one. Brienne loudly disagreed with this but not to Catelyn’s face. That woman could be something else when she felt she wasn’t getting her way. So she was now sitting in a backyard surrounded mostly by strangers for her baby shower.

Sansa fixed her hair, which had now grown to her shoulders because she had all but given up getting it cut monthly. It was growing at rapid intervals and there were other things to tend to, like the constant heartburn and craving for gallons and she did mean _gallons_ of orange juice she now consumed weekly.

So she did look very pretty and perhaps this was the “cute phase” that Sansa spoke of. The dress was her favorite thing about the entire day. It was snug around her stomach but she had to admit that her newly sized DDD breasts looked very nice and buxom in the blue dress.

Arya had better be taking some good angles of her.

When she got around to unwrapping her gifts, she couldn’t have been happier. An hour was enough time with these strangers. Although she was pleased to see Missandei (one of the expectant mothers she met at Lamaze) in attendance and just as annoyed at the inquiries aimed at her about whether or not she was having a boy or girl like Brienne, too. Missandei and her husband Grey were expecting a little girl and the two women had already spoken of how they would have future playdates together. There was solidarity in being annoyed and pregnant.

And she met Margaery, a woman that Sansa had met at the gym who offered to train with Brienne after the baby was born - if that wasn’t being too forward. It was but Brienne couldn’t wait to start running again so she accepted the offer.

“One more gift!” Arya said excitedly after Brienne had seemingly opened them all.

She looked at the small box on the table next to her, surrounded by wrapping paper and gift bags. With a sigh, she reached over and looked down at it. It was green and there was no name on it.

“Are you sure this isn’t attached to someone else’s gift?”

Arya frowned and encouraged her to open it with a nod of her head. Brienne hesitated and opened it, pulling out a small plastic toy. It was a rocking chair.

“It’s from Tormund and Jon!” Arya exclaimed proudly.

All the guests at the shower laughed as Brienne examined it and sat it aside, making a mockingly stern face at Arya.

“Tell them I said thank you,” she chuckled and sat it back down on the table.

When Brienne finally arrived home, her feet were aching and she was _still_ hungry. Thanks to all the interruptions every time she tried to take a bite at the baby shower, her plate was mostly left untouched. Sansa and Arya put her gifts - well, they were actually the _baby_ ’s gifts in his room and then ordered a pizza.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Brienne said through a mouthful of food. “Who the hell was that one lady ...with the red hair? She was a fright!”

Arya laughed, “I think that’s one of mom’s friends. She thinks the world is ending in about a year.”

“Ah, is that why she said she didn’t see the point of pregnancy?”

Sansa nodded and pointed. Brienne nodded her head, too.

“I’ll allow it.”

They all laughed and that went on for two more hours until Brienne was nodding on the couch. It was hard to keep up with Arya and Sansa’s night owl hours but they understand and eventually, she was telling them both good night.

“Alright, baby boy,” she turned off the lights and her bare feet padded down the hallway.

She stopped by his room and the alarming heaviness at the idea that someone would be occupying it weighed on her. It was so overwhelming in that moment she felt like she may be sinking. She flicked on the light in his bedroom and her eyes went right to the rocking chair in the corner of the room.

It matched the crib and had a large green bow attached to it.

Waddling over, she gazed down at it and picked up the piece of paper that was in the seat. The handwriting was in a messy scrawl.

_Bri,_

_Thanks for helping me and Jon. You’ll be a great mommy. Kid’s pretty lucky._

__-Your guys_ _

 Her guys...

Why hadn’t Arya and Sansa told her the gift was here? She looked at it in disbelief and laughed, honestly shocked at the rocking chair. She had so many questions? How did they get the money for it? They couldn’t have built it, had they?

She mentioned a rocking chair once and these two fools remembered and got her one. She shook her head and then the strangest thing happened, she began to cry. The happiest cry that happened since she found out she was pregnant.


	7. Gabriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting inquiries about Jaime QUITE. A. BIT. so I will just say this - this story is for fun but I do love myself a good bit of drama... It's way too "easy" to exclude Jaime, don't you think? Thanks for your kudos and your reviews!

“So, what you’re telling me is that you don’t have a name?” Tormund sat across from Brienne with a confused expression on his face. They were enjoying a very hearty breakfast at a place Tormund loved beyond reason. Brienne was pretty confident why: the food was greasy and the worst kind of good. Being able to finally hold down any type of food cooked in grease in her third trimester was a blessed feeling for Brienne. She loved it.  At this point it was the only thing her son offered of substance.

She was currently experiencing slight cramps in her lower back that began early in the morning so she was grateful for the good food because waking up at four in the morning and not being able to go back to sleep had put her in quite the mood.

Of course, that could have been anything. At the end of her eighth month, she experienced a series of Braxton-Hicks cramps that not only frustrated her but angered Sansa, who fussed at her tummy the third time it happened and the women returned home to crash on the bed after a disappointing baby-less return from the hospital. But either way, Dr. Dany told Brienne not to worry and not to rush it. She was so well versed in Braxton Hicks vs actual contractions now that she could write a book about it.

Well, she was almost two weeks past her due date now. What was the advice now? After the last visit, Dany told Brienne that if the baby did not come in exactly two weeks, they would schedule an induced labor. The kid had three days.

She was going to town on some strange bagel, bacon, and cream cheese concoction and could not be bothered with the judgmental looks he tossed her way. They were finally getting on as friends and now he was back to irritating her again.

“It’s almost like he knows you don’t have a name for him and he’s making you suffer because he’s suffering.”

Another cramp.

Brienne frowned and put the bagel down just so she could especially glare across the table at him.

“The baby doesn’t give a _shit_ what I name him.”

It was unlike her in every way to swear but these last two weeks had really piled the stress on. He looked across at her and devoured his breakfast burrito.

“The baby cares and he can hear when Mummy talks like that.”

Brienne wasn’t sure if it was because he was saying it through a mouthful of food or the use of the word “Mummy” with his accent but she was laughing now, rubbing the side of her stomach. Tormund joined in with her but she could tell he wasn’t quite sure what she found so funny.

“I don’t even care what the baby hears at this point.”

She looked down at her stomach and then back to Tormund, “I’m giving him an eviction notice.”

“I need to go shopping for some flooring in the brewery and you can come with me. Walking around helps and I’m sure your doctor told you that.”

Of course, Dany told her that but Brienne was tired of walking and she was tired of being pregnant. She spent eight months nervous at meeting her child and now she didn’t care about any of that. A lifetime of responsibility for another human being seemed like a piece of cake compared to how uncomfortable she currently felt what with him shifting and stretching inside her.

“Fine, I’ll go with you.” They finished their breakfast and he helped her up from the booth. “Do you and Jon have a name for your brewery?” She waddled behind him, ignoring another cramp from her dear, sweet, darling baby monster.

“We do but it’s a secret!”

Brienne rolled her eyes.

To make herself feel better, she protested, “You’re just pretending you have a name to make yourself look better in front of me.”

“I don’t look good to you?” Tormund looked over his shoulder at her with a lopsided grin.

“That’s not what I said,” she retorted, a smile playing on her lips.

“Come on Mama Bear, let’s go purchase some tile!”

They arrived to the floor tile area of the large warehouse and Tormund pulled out a sticky note with John's messy scrawl on it. He squinted his eyes, looking at the paper then looked back to the labels in front of him. Brienne must have watched him struggle that way for five full minutes before she snatched it from his hand and read through it.

"I don't even think you're trying," Brienne fussed, her eyes scanned the tiles Jon wrote down and she handed the sticky note back to Tormund.

"I can never read this fool's scratch of a handwriting. It doesn’t help that I didn’t bring my glasses with me."

She tried to imagine him in glasses and when she got the image of it, she liked what she saw. A lot. But quick recovery, and she recited what Jon needed.

"I've known him since I was nineteen, it's a learned skill."

“Yeah, that would help and honestly, I’m just too fucking lazy to try and decipher his hieroglyphics.”

He laughed loudly at that, loud enough that it got the attention of one of the employees.

"Can I help you with anything?" A tall, lean man who looked to be every bit of his early twenties walked over to greet them.

They must have been a sight, this larger than life pregnant woman standing next to a man who was just as large with wild red hair and eyebrows shooting up to the sky. The man, whose name tag said Justin was smiling like they weren't intimidating at all.

"Hi, Justin! We were actually wondering if we could order this tile and this tile from the warehouse," Brienne pointed them out while Tormund stood there letting her take charge.

Justin looked between the two of them and smiled, "Are we re-decorating the new home?" His eyes flickered to Brienne's stomach and he smiled just a bit more. Before she could protest, however, Tormund stepped forward and spoke.

"Yes and my wife is very specific about how everything needs to go!"

She looked at him in stunned silence for a moment then turned back to Justin and smiled.

"Yes, I'm even specific about where he sleeps when he's being cheeky!" She pinched Tormund on the arm and he gave a playful yelp of surprise.

The cramp that hit the side of her stomach made her pause for a moment. He turned to her with a concerned expression and she waved her hand, dismissing him. Usually, when these cramps came she could walk it off and everything would be fine.

"I'm going to go for a walk while you can finish up here. Just text me when you're done here."

“Sure thing, love,” he didn’t skip a beat.

"For goodness sake," she whispered before turning to leave.

Making her way through the store, Brienne found the small section dedicated to junk food and drinks. Impulse buys, as she learned at her first retail job that she did not regret leaving to this very day. She pulled the cooler open and grabbed a large Coca Cola and unscrewed the lid.

"Ma'am-"

Brienne turned with the soda to her lips as she downed it one gulp.

The clerk put up a hand to signal that there was no issue at all when he caught sight of her stomach and her expression. She could get Tormund to pay for the damn thing if it was that serious. She walked over to the magazines and her eyes scanned through the different covers. She spotted Cersei Lannister and froze. The cover photo showed Cersei looking vulnerable, heartbroken, and beautiful. The headline made Brienne nearly choke.

 

**CERSEI’S DIVORCE AND HOW SHE COPED WITH JAIME’S CHEATING**

 

 

Oh god, they were divorcing because Jaime told her that he was sleeping with Brienne. She knew it. The idea of it made her so incredibly sick to her stomach. And here she was, walking around with the product of his cheating growing inside her. She was wracked with guilt and suddenly felt very sick to her stomach.

Then, it hit.

She crumpled the magazine slightly in her hand and released a low breath. _That_ was a contraction. Her steps were slow and evenly paced as she made her way back to Tormund. All that fuss about being more ready to deal with a baby than the uncomfortable feeling of him doing twists and turns inside her stomach evaporated at alarmingly fast rates.

Was she really ready for motherhood? She didn’t have a choice now though, did she?

Brienne slowly walked down the aisle towards Tormund and Justin. He had his back to her and was talking very animatedly about bathroom tiles.

“And this one is scuff proof? Did you hear that, Brienne?”

He turned to look at Brienne and she tucked in her lips. Very modestly, she took the sleeve of his shirt in her hand and leaned over to say softly into his ear, “I would like to go home now because the baby is coming.”

“Right,” he replied very calmly and handed the sample tile back to Justin. “I’m sorry but we’ll have to do this at a later date. My wife is going into labor.”

And with that, they both turned away from a very wide-eyed Justin towards their exit. She dropped the tabloid magazine featuring Cersei and Jaime’s very public divorce and they both trampled over it on their way out.

“Could you call Sansa for me?” Brienne asked as she felt wetness between her legs.

Fantastic, her water was breaking.

As it turned out, Sansa was stuck in meetings all day, she answered neither her cell or desk phone. Wanting to keep her labor discreet, Brienne simply left a message with the department assistant (who asked far too many questions about her pregnancy) to have Sansa call the moment she came back to her desk.

So, she was being escorted to the hospital by Tormund. Of all the ironic things to happen to her in her life she did not think it would be this. She made him take her home so that she could shower and change. The first moments of labor took hours and she absolutely refused to go into that hospital soaked. By the time her third contraction hit, she decided she cared none about how she looked or felt.

She didn’t refuse his aid as he held her hand and gently guided her into through the sliding doors of the emergency room.

The nurse at the front counter looked at the pair of them, labeled them as partners, and Brienne didn't have the heart or patience to correct her. Her current focus were the contractions that seemed to grow more painful as the time passed. Catelyn was right, they were a son of a bitch.

"Let's get you to a room," the ER nurse approached her. He gave Tormund the clipboard and the man looked at it like was in another language. For him, it probably was.

"Follow me," the nurse said to Tormund and put Brienne in a wheelchair, wheeling her down the hall.

Well, it was definitely happening. As she lie in the bed, Tormund walked in rather sheepishly, the clipboard still in his large hand. He rubbed his hands over his jeans and went to stand next to her.

"So I called Sansa again and the phone went straight to voicemail but I left another voicemail, urgent, just like you said. I didn't know what the fuck to do with any of this but you can tell me what to write and I'll write it. I know you're contracting and I hear that's a fucking bitch."

He was right, they were a fucking bitch. They were a big fucking bitch. How was she sweating? She didn't even remember sweating before. The room wasn't hot? What was happening?

"Listen, I'm sure Sansa will be here once she realizes so I can leave if you want. I know you only want family."

"No. Stay."

It wasn't an argument. This was terrifying, more terrifying than she thought it would be and there was no way she wanted to do this alone. Besides, he could just stay until Sansa arrived if that's what he wanted. She was sure the last thing he wanted to do was be around when she finally gave birth to this baby.

Then she added softly, “Please.”

He nodded his head and pulled up a chair, pulling the pen from the clipboard and looking at her expectantly.

Slowly, she began to list everything to him so he could write it.

"My sister almost gave birth in my truck once," Tormund's head was bowed as he wrote.

"That sounds awful," Brienne breathlessly replied.

"No, it wasn't so bad. We got to the hospital in time but I thought she was going to break my fucking window." He laughed.

A contraction hit and she gripped the bar on the hospital bed, shutting her eyes tight and holding her breath.

"Hey," she could hear him but then she realized she didn't want to hear him, "you should breathe. Don't hold your breath. I'll breathe with you. We can do it together."

"Yes, well that's easy for you to say. You don't have someone inside you doing a fucking line dance down your birth canal."

"You're absolutely right and that's what makes you a much better person than me."

He stood up from his chair to stand next to her and held out his hand. She looked down at it then slowly up at him. Slowly, she took his hand in hers and gently grasped it.

"No need to be all gentle, I'm not a fuckin' flower. You squeeze as hard as you need to. I can take it."

The funniest thing about giving birth and Brienne didn't think there were many things that were funny, was the waiting. This baby was taking his time no matter how urgent or desperate she was to get him here. And between the contractions, the hunger, and the plain frustration of it all, Brienne knew no amount of prayer or hope could make him come at her command. Tormund was sitting next to her in the chair, his hand still clasped in hers. It had been three hours.

Oh, she fussed. Constant snipes about him not needing to hold her hand the entire time or that it was ridiculous he wouldn’t go get a bite to eat. At least one of them should be eating!

To pass the time, they swapped stories of their childhood. Brienne talked longingly of how she was the best rugby player in her neighborhood and also her university. Tormund challenged her to a game. And she took him up on it.

Then after another contraction hit, a silence fell between them.

She was staring up at the screen when she broke the silence.

"Gabriel."

"Hmm?" He seemed to be deep in thought, too.

"I'm want to name him Gabriel. Gabriel Selwyn. My father's name is Selwyn."

"Gabriel Selwyn Tarth. That's a good name, a strong one." Tormund nodded his head and turned to Brienne. "You're going to be an amazing mother. That kid doesn't even know how lucky he is. And the father, whoever he is, is really missing out on something special."

Brienne clenched her jaw. She wanted to tell him about Jaime, that she wasn’t anything special at all. She was just a mistress that helped break up a marriage. Or confess to him about the fact that Jaime didn’t even _know_ she was pregnant. But she didn’t, instead Brienne simply smiled in her own silent way of telling him thanks.

The room door opened and Sansa came rushing in, apologizing repeatedly and in a whisper.

"I am so sorry," she ran over to Brienne and knelt down over the woman, taking her face in her hands and kissing her on the forehead. Their hands were still locked together.

As Sansa cooed and doted on Brienne while she protested, Tormund's hand slipped away from hers. It felt strange and empty when he moved away, getting closer to the door. Sansa was too busy fussing at her own self for not having her phone turned on to notice the two of them. Brienne looked over Sansa's shoulder at Tormund and he bowed his head to her. She returned it with a faint smile.

Brienne looked at the door as it closed and turned to Sansa, who was looking at her knowingly.

“You’re lucky you’re having a baby because we need to discuss _that_.”

She knew very well what the “that” was and she was going to avoid it for as long as fate would allow.

“Sansa,” Brienne looked up at her best friend and her eyes filled with tears, stinging as she blinked them down, “I’m really scared.” It came out in a choked whisper and Sansa’s eyes filled with tears, too. She hovered over her and pressed her forehead to Brienne’s.

“We’re going to be just fine,” she whispered and kissed her on the forehead. “I told you that I would be here for you no matter what. And I am. I always will be.”

Brienne nodded her head, tears still falling.

At 11:45 PM, Gabriel Selwyn Tarth was born. He was seven pounds and twenty inches in length. And he had the lungs of a siren. Or an angel if anyone had asked Brienne.


	8. Maternity Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the reviews and kudos!!!! Funny fact, I had so many titles for this story and the chapter of this title was almost the title of the story!

“It’s actually kind of scary,” Sansa stood next to Brienne, watching as she changed Gabriel’s diaper.

Brienne looked at her friend and frowned. It really wasn’t all that bad. She survived the first two months without completely ripping her hair out and maternity leave granted her the power to find the perfect sleep schedule. All the youtube videos, classes, books, and anything else concerning the sleeping habits of babies in the world could not prepare her for the pure exhaustion she suffered from being a new parent. But it wasn’t all so bad now...

Three months and she was quite proud of herself.

There was a freezer full of breast milk, leaving her in full supply to meet his demands. He definitely had demands. He was growing at an alarming rate but he still her precious little baby. Gabriel’s care had been the best that Brienne possibly could. Now, Brienne on the other hand… Personally, she was still slipping into the maternity clothes but this was mostly because of the pound of flesh that was her stomach. Whenever she was ready. That was all Sansa said, never pressuring her.

Brienne was ready but she wasn’t ready to leave Gabriel. That had been the real problem.

“Motherhood isn’t  so bad,” Brienne finally said after finishing his diaper.

“No, I don’t mean motherhood. Although…” Sansa made a face at the idea of being a mother and Brienne gave her a shove.

“Cut it out!” She said with a laugh.

“No, I mean to say, it’s kind of scary just how  _ much _ he looks like Jaime.”

“Not you, too,” she lifted him up and put him over her shoulder to calm down his cries. Three months in and he still hated having his diaper changed.

Sansa held her arms out for the baby and Brienne handed him over with no problem.

Not you, too, being in reference to a comment made a week after Gabriel was born as Catelyn was fawning over him. Brienne wasn’t sure why the comment made her so angry. It was irrational. He  _ was _ Gabriel’s father.

…which was another issue in itself.

Sansa had forgotten all about questioning her about Tormund since the baby was born and with their opposing work schedules, the pair never bumped into each other. Brienne was very thankful for this.

“I really hate I can’t stay. Pod invited me to some community play he’s participating in.”

“Oh?” Brienne’s eyebrows shot up.

“Oh, nothing. Podrick is just a friend.” Sansa waved a hand and sighed, “Besides, he isn’t my type.”

“You better be careful,” Brienne watched as Sansa cooed over Gabriel as he giggled and kicked his legs when she would tickle his little tummy, “Littlefinger is watching.”

“Oh  _ God _ ,” Sansa rolled her eyes. “He’s so disgusting. Yesterday, he asked how you were and asked about the baby, too. But it’s like, he can never just ask it normally. He told us that breastfeeding was essential for the baby. So I’m pretty sure he thought about you breastfeeding.”

Brienne stuck her finger in her mouth, pretending to gag and Sansa giggled.

Their boss Petyr Baelish, was their biggest enemy. He had quite the knack for showing up at the oddest of times with the strangest of comments. Most times, the women in the office ignored him but Brienne was pretty sure someone had reported him for harassment about ten years ago. The rumor around the office was that he had dirt on the higher-ups and they would never fire him. He would have had to practically kill someone to lose his job.

She loved how rosy Gabriel’s cheeks were. When he caught sight of her, he gave her a lopsided grin and his lopsided grins were the worst because he looked  _ exactly _ like Jaime. A sadness swept over her and she reached over to trail the tip of her fingers along Gabriel’s tiny foot. His foot arched and he cooed, frowning at Brienne then smiling.

Sansa sat Gabriel up and turned him around to face her. He was three months old but longer than any baby Brienne had ever seen and breastfeeding had made him healthy and round.

She looked up to see Sansa giving the worried expression that most friends did.

“You need to tell him, Brienne.” 

Before Brienne could argue it, Sansa hurried on, “No, I think you should. Listen, I told you that I would be here for you no matter what and I meant that… but imagine if you will, the idea of your child being out there in the world but you don’t know anything about it. It’s not fair.”

“Sansa, you don’t think I haven’t tried to tell him?”

She had the phone in her hand several times but her nerves always got the better of her. Now, Gabriel was three months old and looking more like his father by the day. It only seemed to make things all the more complicated.

“I’m sure it isn’t easy, but he needs to know. You owe him that much.”

Brienne sighed and nodded her head. He did need to know and she would tell him. It just wouldn’t be today. Maybe not even tomorrow.

“Besides, that dirty laundry needs to be cleaned and aired out before you start dating Tormund. I know that-”

“Wait. Woah, woah, woah.” Brienne held out an arm, stopping Sansa from continuing. “Before I start dating  _ Tormund _ ? What would even make you say something like that?”

Sansa gave a dry laugh and turned Gabriel back to her, holding him in the air.

“Your mama lives in denial, wee one.”

“There is no denial!” Brienne argued. “Tormund is my friend and there’s nothing more to it. He’s not even my type.”

“Well there’s no denying that,” Sansa agreed, “I mean if it’s to say that your type are pretty boys who are much too stupid to realize how great you are then yes, you do have a type.”

Brienne shook her head and sighed. She wasn’t going to let Sansa bother her. Tormund was her friend and there was nothing else to it.

“You know what I’d like?” Brienne stood up and stretched her long arms high over her head. “I’d like to start running again. I’ve been trying to get myself to do it but I keep thinking about Gabriel. What will he do when I’m away?”

“Probably the same thing he does when you’re here. He’ll spit up, or piss, shit, or whatever it is baby’s do and then you’ll come home and he’ll do the same thing.”

Brienne laughed and walked over to take him away from Sansa, “Don’t you have a community theater play you have to go to?” 

Sansa wasn’t oblivious to her teasing but she grabbed her purse and keys anyway. 

“Tell Tormund I said hello,” she jumped out of Brienne’s reach before she could grab at her. 

Sansa handed Gabriel back over to Brienne and she smiled at him, “Auntie Sansa is silly. It’s just you and me and we don’t need anyone but us.”

“Say that in a few months when you’re horny.”

Brienne’s mouth fell open and she covered Gabriel’s ears.

Really, the last thing she could think about in this current state of her life was dating and if she was going to go on a date with someone, it wasn’t going to be Tormund. She made the promise that she would never date another friend again. It just didn’t work well in the end. Between Renly, Hyle, and now Jaime, it was best to just find a random man on the street! She had grown to enjoy Tormund’s friendship, even a bit of his flirting - which he did with everyone! She didn’t think he really liked her all that much and was more or less fascinated with the idea of getting her to warm to him. She was sure Jon had told him about her. How she could be cold and distant at times.

Or perhaps, she was just overthinking all this. Either way, she wasn’t going to date Tormund.

But when his familiar knock sounded from the other side of the door, the dip in her stomach was there. It was stupid to try and deny her attraction to hi.

Sansa was on the way out as Tormund was making his way in.

“You come to visit every day, don’t you?” She looked over at Brienne and caught her hurriedly grooming herself. 

She was suddenly self-conscious, realizing that was wasn’t as together as she thought. Gabriel was well fed, dressed, and cleaned. It was Brienne that hadn’t showered in a weekend’s time and dear god, that  _ was _ a spot on the place her nipple would be on her shirt. Congratulations, lactating moms! She tucked her lips in and grabbed the bathrobe haphazardly folded over the couch. Thankful Sansa didn’t feel the need to tease her.

“Well, Gabriel is my little buddy.”

“Just for Gabriel?” Sansa inquired innocently and Tormund chuckled. 

Satisfied with the response, Sansa nodded her head and kissed Gabriel on the forehead.

“See you later, gorgeous!” She was absolutely delighted by the simplest things, especially when it was other people’s children involved.

After she left, Tormund turned to Brienne and held his arms out for Gabriel.

“Are your hands clean?”

Tormund looked at his hands then looked at her and flashed his palms to her.

“Excuse you but I would never hold a baby with dirty hands.” 

The closer he moved to the baby, the more the baby kicked and cooed. Brienne shook her head, slightly smiling. 

“Gabe, my main man!” He took him in his strong arms and gave Brienne a once over. 

Feeling exposed, she casually through the robe over her shoulder to cover at least half her side. Breastfeeding was great when it came to nutrients for the baby but also, it helped with some of the weight loss as well. Following Gabriel’s birth, Dr. Dany put her on a very strict non-dairy diet and the first week had been awful but she was grateful for it now.

“You sprung a leak,” he perked his eyebrows and his eyes lowered to her breasts.

She looked down and groaned.

“Great, I’m going to take a shower. Don’t kidnap my son.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he was already focusing his attention on Gabriel, “I’d just steal you both.”

Brienne walked away, shaking her head. 

The shower saved her life. She remembered the horrible second week of motherhood that was dedicated to only brushing teeth, washing a face, and pumping. Pumping. Pumping. More pumping. A two day shower with oh, that one little spot? It was nothing. But being seen by Tormund while also sporting a messy hairdo and clothes he had seen her in two days ago… that was just embarrassing.

While the baby was occupied in Tormund’s care, she took her time and enjoyed the hot water. She smoothed her hand over her now shoulder length hair and gave a sigh of relief. 

After her shower, she dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, still maternity, brushed her hair back into a wet ponytail and made her way back to the living room. She stopped in the doorway when she spotted Tormund talking to Gabriel, who was lying on his back in Tormund’s lap. The baby looked up at him with an expression like he understood what the man was saying. He smiled up at Tormund and let out a squeal.

“So I tell John that the cylinder won’t work because duh, the thing just won’t fit. Now, Gabriel, I’m sure you understand - man to man, that sometimes an ego can ruin a good thing. You’re clever so you can imagine where I’m going with this. Now we need two cylinders and Jon’s got a nasty gash on his right arm. So of course, now we’re hiring a contractor so we don’t kill each other or ourselves.”

Gabriel smiled at Tormund and he smiled back.

“What are you and Jon doing now?”

Brienne made her presence known as she best she could without coming off as awkward. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. 

“Oh, nothing just stupid building stuff.”

“Tormund, you know you can tell me that stuff, right? Don’t think that because I’m a girl I won’t be interested.”

“Woah, that’s not what I said!” He tossed Gabriel a look like  _ can you believe this lady _ and looked back to her, “it’s just that this stuff really  _ is _ boring. Jon and I were trying to put the kegs together and he almost lost his hand trying to prove to me that we didn’t need a contractor. We definitely need a contractor.”

“I can ask around,” Brienne said with a shrug.

“You’d do that for me?” Tormund seemed absolutely taken aback by the act of kindness.

“It’s not that big of a deal. Is it, Gabe?” She spoke in a soft voice to Gabriel and he bunched his face up at her. “It most certainly is not.”

She looked at Tormund and then Gabriel and narrowed her yes.

Tormund lifted one of his bushy, fiery eyebrows, “What is it?”

“Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything for you,” he puffed out his chest and she just laughed.

“I want to go for a jog. I won’t be gone very long and there’s plenty breast milk in the fridge.” His eyes instinctively went to her breasts. She pretended she didn’t see him stealing a glance. “I’ve been wanting to for a while and Gabriel gets along enough with you. You seem to get along well enough with Gabriel, too.”

She tentatively awaited his answer.

“Of course!” He replied jovially. “Gabe is my best buddy! We’ll be fine. I mean, how hard could it be?”

Brienne thought about two weeks ago when Arya affectionately but also angrily called him The Shit Monster.

She patted him on the shoulder and laughed, getting up from the couch.

“Oh, the boys are gonna’ party!” Tormund exclaimed to Gabriel. He received a gurgle in response and Brienne smiled to herself as she went into the room to change into jogging clothes. 

She didn’t even care that she had just showered. The idea of going for a jog brought her so much pleasure. When she came back into the hallway, she was the subject of a catcall whistle from Tormund.

“You’re lookin’ damn good! Three months? Three months?!” He tilted his head and nodded it slowly.

“Oh, shut up!” She laughed. She walked around to kiss Gabriel on the forehead, making unnecessary promises of her return and turned to leave. Brienne could feel Tormund’s eyes on her back but she didn’t bother to look over her shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she said and opened the door to leave.

It was all she could do to keep herself from blushing or push that creeping feeling of the best kind of nausea in her stomach. The feelings would eventually subside. She knew that. 

This jog would help her figure out what to do about Jaime. When she stepped out on her stoop, she put her headphones in, turned on her music, and  after a good stretch she began to take slow, careful steps until she was soon bouncing in a quickened pace down the street. Brienne ran at a very steady pace, pleased that childbirth hadn’t completely taken away her ability to be a fairly decent runner. Yes, she did lose her breath sooner than usual but she knew with enough training she’d be right back to where she needed to be with that.

Within a week’s time, Brienne and Tormund had quietly worked out an ordeal with each other. He would come over to visit, spending time with Gabriel and she would go on a jog. So quickly it became a routine that Brienne didn’t think twice about it now as he walked into the house, tattooed and happy to see her son.

She was still trying to work up her courage on how she would tell Jaime about their son but until then, she enjoyed the jogs. And yes, she also enjoyed Tormund. He was great with Gabriel. And really, what mattered was what was best for Gabriel.

Right?

Right.

So of course, that afternoon she walked in on Tormund out like a light, with Gabriel’s tiny body resting on his chest… she wanted to kiss him because it was a sweet gesture. It  _ was _ a sweet gesture but that wasn’t why she wanted to kiss him.

She wanted to kiss him because she wanted to know how his lips felt against hers, his strong arms wrapped around her ...could he lift her? She saw the muscle in his biceps, he could lift her no problem. He probably could have lifted her in her ninth month, too.

Oh  _ god _ .


	9. But When She Gets Weary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was feeling particularly creative and finished a chapter earlier than usual this week. I'm shocked at myself, lol. Thank you guys so much for the reviews and kudos. Your reviews and replies have really helped boost my confidence as a writer. Couldn't be more pleased to give you this story, honestly. Chapter title is from the famous "Try A Little Tenderness" by the iconic Otis Redding. I have a playlist of the fanfic that I'm going to share with you all, too!

Her first day back at work was terrible. Awful. A mess.

She was welcomed back with a breakfast that she didn’t want, conversation with coworkers she didn’t care for, and somehow - despite all of Pod’s hard work, a desk with work waiting for her. And the emails.

All she really wanted was to be home with Gabriel.

There were days she was practically dying for the conversations of adults and now that she had it, she realized would have given it up forever just to be back home with her baby. What a sad state of affairs.

At lunch, she escaped them all and called the nanny she had hired with the help of Sansa. She only watched him on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays while Catelyn had him Mondays and Wednesdays. Coming back on a Tuesday was the worst decision she could have ever mad. After Brienne talked with the nanny on her lunch break, she spent the rest of it in the bathroom crying.

It was ridiculous and she knew it but she sat on the toilet in the employee bathroom stall, sniffing and wiping her eyes. Thankfully, no one had come in during the past fifteen minutes of this emotional breakdown.

However, five minutes later...

The door opened and heels clicked on the tile until they stopped just in front of her door. Those black heels belonged to Sansa.

She knocked on the stall and followed it with, “Are you alright?”

Of course, she already knew the answer to that.

“I’m fine,” her voice quivered a little as she said it.

Sansa stood there for a moment and then she knocked again.

“Seriously, I’m fine.”

“Nah, you’re not. Open the door so I can come in there.”

“No.”

“I may not be as tall as you but I’m at least six foot in these heels. I will climb over the stall next to you and come in there myself so, help me, Brienne Tarth.”

Brienne sat there for a moment and when Sansa made a move for the stall next to hers, she immediately got up from the toilet to open the door. The moment Sansa saw her face, a cloud of sympathy hung over her.

“Oh, dear.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the worst mother in the world.”

Sansa frowned and closed herself in the stall with Brienne. It was a tight space but that didn’t stop her.

“Brienne, you have to work. You and Gabriel both have to eat. There’s no need to beat yourself up about that. I know you miss him but you have to be realistic.”

“It’s not just that,” she sniffed and grabbed more tissue. Her face must have looked a mess now. “What sort of person doesn’t tell someone they had their baby. What is _wrong_ with me?”

Sansa sighed, put her hands on the woman’s shoulders, and sat her down. She looked down at Brienne and smiled, “It makes you fucking human, is what. Okay, so you haven’t told Jaime yet but you will tell him and what’s happened has happened.”

“He’s going to hate me.”

Tormund would hate her.

“No, he won’t. That asshole was married when he manipulated your feelings.”

“Oh, Sansa. I’m telling you the same thing now as I told you then - his marriage was headed nowhere. They were separated.”

“Sure, that’s what all men say and then they come.”

When Brienne cried harder, Sansa squeezed her shoulder.

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean that you’re not a terrible mother _or_ person. You’re one of the best women I know! And Gabriel is a happy, healthy baby. You’re being far too hard on yourself! It’s okay to cry because you’re upset right now but we have exactly twenty minutes to get back to work. If you come back with a red nose and blotchy cheeks, Littlefinger is going to ask you if you want to come to his office and be comforted. Then he’s going to give you the creepy coach rubs on your back.”

Brienne choked out a laugh and wiped her nose.

This was so unlike her! How long was she supposed to experience these weird hormones that came with pregnancy? The baby was here now and it almost seemed like her mind was even more tangled than before.

“Listen, I am very much here for an emotionally tuned Brienne Tarth but if we’re going to do this, can we at least be on a couch?”

She laughed again and stood up from the stall.

After she finished cleaning up and hiding those swollen eyes as best she could, she went back to work.

When work was over and she arrived home to see Gabriel in his baby swing, eyes focused intently on the flashing lights above his head, she really could have cried. In fact, she wanted to cry but she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the nanny. Instead, she knelt down and scooped him in her arms and peppered him with kisses.

Was this really the person she had become?

Yes, it was and she didn’t mind it one bit. Gabriel’s smiles when he saw her and his squeals when she talked to him, those cute baby giggles, all those things were the the most important things in the world to her. She couldn’t have asked for a better baby. Even if she hadn’t originally planned his arrival so soon, he was the greatest mistake she’d ever made.

“Oh, how I missed you so!” She thanked the nanny and paid her, saying goodbye and holding on tightly to Gabriel as the woman left.

Brienne’s running schedule had been slightly altered now that she returned to work. She was sitting on the couch in shorts and her nursing bra, Gabriel’s hand resting on her breast as he fed. She stroked the top of his head and cooed down to him. His eyes were blissfully shut and his little toes were curled.

“Must taste good,” she said with a light chuckle.

The knock on the door, startled her slightly and Gabriel pulled back to let out a sound before going right back to work.

She stood up with the baby still attached to her and covered a little blanket over his head and her chest. She looked through the peephole and was surprised to see that it was Tormund.

“Just a minute,” she said and bit down on her bottom lip.

Oh, what the hell? Why not? It was _only_ Tormund. He had several nieces and nephews, surely he understood. She opened the door and he was already grinning like a big kid. His eyes went to the blanket and then back up to her.

“Hey,” he greeted her and stepped inside, “how was your first day back?”

“It was horrible,” she admitted.

He nodded and walked over to sit on the couch after she closed the door. She sat next to him and finished feeding. He had gone silent, watching her for a moment until she looked back to him.

“Surely, you’ve seen someone in your lifetime breastfeed.”

“Well yeah but…”

“But what?” Gabriel was just finishing up now and she pulled him away and cleaned around his mouth and herself with a baby wipe all while carefully maneuvering this under the blanket.

“Ah, nevermind. Why was work so miserable?”

“I think I might hate my job,” another confession. “I mean, it’s a little early in my return from maternity leave and could possibly change again but I hate it right now for sure.”

“You can always come and be the bookkeeper for the brewery.”

Brienne laughed dryly.

“I already told you the reason why _that_ will never happen. It’s already tough enough doing this on the budget I have and I get paid pretty well.”

“Then you should make his shithead of a dad step up and do what he’s supposed to do.”

Brienne could, no _should_ have told him that wasn’t really the case, considering she was the one that may be the shithead this time around, but she chose to stay quiet.

“How is it going at the brewery?” She decided to change the subject.

“Great! Wanted to thank you for introducing us to that contractor. You’re a miracle worker. Things are going much faster now. We should be up and running in a few months time.” He turned his attention to Gabriel, “And _you_ might be walking when we open. You can come and have few pints with your friend, Tormund.”

Brienne bumped him with her shoulder and they both laughed.

“So, is there any way you’ll tell me that name? You know, since I’m such a great help and all?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you but you’ve got to do one more thing.”

She perked an eyebrow at him, imitating him and he threw his head back and laughed.

“You’ve got to continue your routine and get out there and jog. You know it only takes one slip up and you just fall into bad habits. I saw you when you came in from your first jog and every one after that, you looked at peace. Never seen anything like it before, honestly.”

“I felt free,” she said softly. He nodded, his eyes on her.

“Gabriel is not going to go to the Mom Police because you took away from one hour of baby time out of the day for yourself.”

She sat there in contemplative silence for a while then picked Gabriel up and handed him over to Tormund.

“You’re right.”

Getting up from the couch, Brienne headed down the hall and into her bedroom to get dressed for her jog.

It was important to take time out for herself. She didn’t really _need_ Tormund to tell her that but his words were affirming. Even if she was working again, that didn’t mean she couldn’t work out a schedule to find time for herself. And next time, she _would_ go to the gym with Sansa and Margaery. And she would start playing rugby and football with Arya again.

These were the things she loved to do.

And while she was feeling particularly confident in herself, she would rip off that bandaid and call Jaime, too.

Could it get any worse? She had planned her life with Gabriel to be one where she would raise him alone. If Jaime chose not to be involved then ultimately, that was his decision and also his mistake. Gabriel was a great baby and with or without his birth father, he was surrounded by love and had plenty of care.

When she returned back to her apartment, panting, hair sticking to her forehead she paused at her apartment door. Music blasted from the living room and she could hear movement. She unlocked the door and walked inside, freezing when she caught Tormund dancing and singing along to Queen’s _Somebody To Love_. She kissed her teeth and closed the door behind her.

“Is this what you do every time you’re here?”

He laughed and nodded his head, dancing his way over to Brienne.

“Oh god, no,” she waved him off. “I am sweaty and gross. Completely disgusting. Also, I _do_ not dance.”

“Neither do I!” Tormund replied. “And if you tell anyone, Gabriel’s going to have to grow up a poor, little orphan.”

“You can try but you’ll never take me.”

He took a step forward and she took one back, pointing at him. It was a warning. Brienne was only pregnant for nine months. She had been taking down men as big as Tormund and bigger in sports since she was a teenager.

“Was that a challenge?” He cocked his head to the side took in a deep breath.

“What are you doing?” Brienne frowned and held an arm out. “You look ridiculous.”

“This is my battle stance.”

“We are not battling in my apartment, Tormund. How would it look or sound with two giants like us stomping around above someone’s head?” Tormund agreed with her, giving a sad nod. She added, “So save it for when I kick your butt in football.”

“Oh now that is a challenge.”

The song changed to Otis Redding’s _Try A Little Tenderness_ and he gave the happiest of sighs. Had it not been so hairy, bulky, or covered in tattoos he could be something akin to a teenage girl listening to her favorite musician.

“I will win that challenge, Brienne.”

She liked the way he said her name and she also liked the way he really thought he could beat her at any sport. All her awards and medals were in storage, along with the jerseys and momentums she kept during her high school and university years.

He was so naive that it was adorable.

Dancing his way over to her, Tormund held out his arms.

“I _told_ you, I’m sweaty and gross. You don’t want to touch me.”

“Never in a million years will that statement ever be true.”

That made her falter and her defenses dropped.

Tormund took her by the hand and gave her a little spin. She obliged, turning in the circle and then back to face him. He mouthed the words along with Otis Redding’s crooning. She started laughing, she couldn’t help herself.

“I don’t dance,” she said again as he put his hand on the small of her back, stepping closer to her.

They moved around in a circle and his smile made her smile. She looked at him for a moment then shook her head, looking away and chuckled lightly.

“ _It’s not just sentimental. No, no, no. She has her grief and care. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the soft words they spoke, they are spoke so gentle. It makes easier to bear. Yeaaaah._ ”

Brienne locked eyes with him as he “serenaded” her. She found herself stepping in time to the music. He nodded his head, still silently singing along and stepped back, pushing her outward so she could mimic him.

When they stepped closer to each other, she wrapped an arm around his neck.

He snaked his arm around her waist again and used the other to tuck some of her drying hair behind her ear.

“All you gotta’ do is hold her where you want her, like my good friend Otis says.”

The softness of his voice sent chills up Brienne’s spine. Okay, fine, she liked him. She liked him enough to spend several hours of her time with him. Liked him enough to be affected by foot massages. Definitely liked him enough to leave Gabriel alone with him. Liked him enough to dance with him in her living room.

“No one knows but we’re naming a brewery The Wildling Beer Company. Silly name but when Jon and I were a little younger and little more reckless, we were given that name. As an insult. Isn’t that silly?”

Brienne was too entranced to actually respond to him now. All her focus had gone to those green of his eyes and just how red his eyebrows were. Really? Was he red all over like this?

He stroked her cheek with his knuckles. Her eyes slowly closed and she released a soft exhale.

“I like you sweaty,” his face was closer now and his lips were brushing against hers.

They weren’t dancing anymore. She was very aware of that. She was also very aware of the way Tormund’s beard tickled her skin when he moved in closer to her. It felt softer than she had imagined it would. Imagined? How long had she _imagined_?

“Can I kiss you?”

He was already _there_ , he didn’t _need_ to ask.

She slowly nodded her head and his lips pressed to hers. It was tender, just as Otis was now advising in the song. She relaxed against him and her eyes slowly closed.

He cupped the side of her face and they tilted their heads, their noses pressing against each other as they did.

Warm, wet, and soft were the only ways to describe his kisses. She reveled in how gentle he was with her. Daringly, she snaked one hand up into his messy scruff of hair and gently massaged her fingers into his scalp.

Tormund took a large handful of her top and used it to pull her even closer to him, crushing their bodies together.

Their kiss deepened and Tormund took a step forward until Brienne’s back was pressed against the wall. She could feel his hands sliding their way up her side, along the small dip in her waist and pausing just next to her ribs.

When his hand cupped her breast, she gasped and he stole that opportunity to slip his tongue between her lips. His thick thigh fit between her legs, parting them just a bit and he shifted until his leg pressing into her, his hands still gently massaging her breasts.

He moved his head down to kiss along her neck and suddenly, she remembered the baby. The baby! What the hell was she doing?

But _god_ it felt so good…

“Tormund,” she whispered, “the _baby_ …”

And for a moment, even she got lost in his lips kissing along her neck but she became more forceful and put her hands on his shoulders to lightly shove him off.

“We have to stop. We have to-” she was panting but he pulled back to look at her, his emerald eyes dark with lust.

“The baby is right there. We have to stop.”

He pulled back and looked over his shoulder. The automatic lights on Gabriel’s swing were flashing and his tiny socked feet kicked a little. He looked back to Brienne and slowly nodded her head. She was so grateful he complied so easily because if he had protested, they would have ended up in her bedroom.

She adjusted her top, the absence of his hands very present.

Brienne let out a low breath then walked over to check on Gabriel.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

Tormund watched her in what could only be described best a strained silence.

“Maybe you should go,” Brienne finished.

Tormund frowned and took a step towards Brienne, “Did I do something wrong? Did I miss…”

“No, it’s not you. It’s definitely not you! I just don’t think what I need right now is to do something like _this_.”

She motioned to the space between them.

“Brienne,” he pleaded and she closed her eyes at the sound of her name on his lips.

“Tormund, _please_.”

He went silent and then after some time, nodded his head. He grabbed his jacket from the couch and gave her one last look before he headed to the door. He paused and turned to face her.

“Whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t. My feelings for you are real. They always have been, you know. I’m absolutely crazy about you and Gabriel.”

Before she could tell him she maybe - perhaps - could have possibly… felt the same he was leaving. She looked at the door for a moment and then walked to plop down on the couch and bury her face in her hands.

And once again, she was crying.

Later on that night, after her shower and Gabriel had been put down for bed she sat in her own bed and looked down at her cell phone. She juggled it in her hand for a moment and then with a sigh, dialed the number that she still knew by memory.

_Please don’t pick up. Please don’t pick up._

The mantra began in her head. And for a second, she thought she was home free.

“Hello?” Jaime’s voice answered from the other end. Panic hit like a large tidal wave and she froze, unable to speak.

“Brienne?”


	10. Just Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reviews and kudos and all your input in general. You guys really make a writer feel special! We're encountering my favorite thing: drama. Enjoy!

After Brienne informed Jaime of Gabriel, he was silent for quite some time. So long in fact that Brienne had to make sure he was still actually on the phone.

She made no plan on how to tell him and she was regretting it now that she sat upright in bed, looking down at her blanket covered legs. Guilt and shame racked her as he gave heavy sigh after heavy sigh from his end.

“How old is he again?” He finally asked after some silence.

“He’s three - almost four months.”

“Four months.” He sounded absolutely floored at the news. Hearing the surprise and shock in his voice only made her feel worse. 

He went silent again.

Try as she might, she couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes. They stung and she blinked, letting them fall down her cheeks. Crying was so unlike her and now, now it seemed this was all she ever did.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Be honest with yourself, Jaime. Had I told you what would have happened?”

Jaime grew silent again, he was carefully choosing his answer.

“I don’t know,” he finally said, being honest. “You know, Brienne, I don’t know what I would have done. Maybe I would have stayed. Maybe I would have left. But it’s not like you gave me any options.”

“You’re right,” Brienne nodded her head, sniffling. “I didn’t give you any options but it wasn’t because I didn’t want to or I didn’t want _you_. I really didn’t think I could bear you telling me that you didn’t want to be apart of my life or Gabriel’s… so I saved myself the heartbreak.”

She knew he would have chosen Cersei. He  _always_ chose Cersei.

“The day I find out, you told me you wanted to fix things with her. If I had told you that I was pregnant, I think we would have mutually agreed that wouldn't be wise to keep it. Then I started to really think about my life and how I didn’t want to, Jaime. I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of the pregnancy. You made your decision to go back to your wife and I just didn’t want to meddle. I know who she is and I know that if any news ever got out that you were cheating on her with me and there was a child, we’d all be in serious trouble.

And Gabriel does not deserve that. He deserves the happiest life I can give him. I'm willing to do anything to keep him safe.”

“Can we - can we discuss this tomorrow. Maybe at lunch? Can I meet him? Could I see him? What he looks like? What does he look like?”

“Just like you,” Brienne said softly and smiled. “Hang on one second.”

She pulled the phone from her ear and thumbed through the hundreds of photos she had of him. She stopped at the one of him sitting on the couch with a giant “3” on his shirt to celebrate his three months of living. How Tormund got him to sit up without falling over was still a wonder. She always thought those things were so ridiculous but this was the person she had become now. The number thing had actually been Arya's idea, who secretly confessed to  _loving_ those things on babies.

After she sent the photo to Jaime, she placed the phone back to her ear and waited.

It took a while, she was sure for the shock to wear off. She could hear the gasp and the small sounds of surprise.

_Yes, Jaime this is your son. He is yours and he is a sweet, beautiful boy. You are lucky, just as I am, to be responsible for his presence._

But she didn’t say any of that. She simply waited. She could wait for his response. After all, she had been quiet about it for this long. What was a few more minutes?

“This is our son.”

“That is our son.”

“He’s beautiful.”

“I know.”

Jaime went silent again. And again, Brienne waited.

Finally, after moments of silence and her small facts here and there about Gabriel and the things he loved, the two set up a lunch date where they would meet and he would get a chance to at least get a glimpse of his son.

When she got off the phone with him, she released a breath she felt like she had been holding the entire conversation. That went surprisingly better than she thought it would. Of course that was Jaime Lannister though, wasn’t it? Never lost his temper and always kept it below the surface.

There was no need to ask ‘what if’ anymore. Gabriel was here and though they hadn’t had the lunch together yet, she knew that Jaime would be the best father he could. Or she hoped.

She placed her phone on the bedside table and slowly lowered herself down until her head was resting on the pillows. Brienne pulled the covers up over her shoulders and turned on her side. Very clearly, she could see Tormund’s ginger beard, large smile, and emerald eyes peering at her. Now that she told Jaime of their son, what would she tell Tormund about Jaime?

Should she tell Tormund anything about Jaime?

Was it even his place to know?

He was only her friend and all they had done was kiss. Nothing else had come from that. But that _kiss_. It had been so tender and sweet, his lips were so soft. His beard’s light scratches against her face… God it had been so long since she had been kissed! And Tormund was so tender and sweet, sweeter than any man she had ever...

 _Loved_?

No. Maybe?

Damn.

Brienne rolled over on her back and stared up at her ceiling until she fell asleep and was awakened by Gabriel’s cries in the morning.

The next day she felt like she was overcompensating for not telling Jaime about Gabriel. He was dressed in the most pretentious baby boy outfit she could find. Petyr Baelish had been the one to purchase it as a gift when she had her company baby shower. She and Sansa spent more than a little time laughing at it. And now she was here dressing her poor child in it.

After she placed him in the powder blue overalls with little dancing ducks on them, she sighed and lifted him up into her arms. He fussed and whined all morning and when she tried to feed him, he refused to be a compliant eater, and he wouldn’t even nurse. Even he knew he looked ridiculous. She was not surprised that he cried the entire Uber ride to the restaurant where she would be meeting Jaime for lunch.

She was so thankful he had reservations for a table outside in the non-smoking area. Gabriel could cry to his heart’s content and slap at her hands while she tried to give him his bottle and pacifier. Brienne was pretty tempted to slap those tiny little hands back, too. Why was he being so temperamental all of a sudden? He wasn’t normally so fussy.

“Brienne.”

She was hovering over Gabriel in his stroller and slowly stood at the sound of her name. Gabriel was still crying and was clutching his pacifier tightly in her hand. She turned to face Jaime and her stomach gave a nervous dip and she awkwardly held out a hand for him. Immediately, she wanted to hit herself in the face for being so silly. He looked down at her hand then back at her. He cut his hair and it made him look older - well, his age mostly. He would be turning fifty in a few month's time.

“Is that how you’ll be greeting me now?” His face cracked into a smile and she remembered the way those laugh lines around the corner of her eyes made her swoon.

“He’s not normally like this,” she said with a little laugh when Jaime pulled his eyes away from her and focused on a very upset Gabriel.

“Oh, he’s probably just really tired.”

She thought about Tormund for a moment and how they argued over whether or not Gabriel was tired. _He’s not tired, he just doesn’t want to be fuckin’ bothered right now_. It made her chuckle a little and Jaime joined in, not knowing what she was laughing at.

“Can I hold him?” He motioned to the stroller and Brienne nodded her head, stepping aside.

“Absolutely,” Brienne nodded and held her arm out.

Jaime picked him up and he still cried at the top of his lungs. People were watching them now. She watched with caution as Jaime bounced Gabriel up and down, talking very sweetly to him. Whatever problems that were there between them would have to leave, Brienne knew this as she watched him try his best to calm Gabriel down. Eventually he did, bouncing him gently in his lap and stroking the top of his head. She gave him a bottle then watched as he fed him, realizing just how much they looked alike. No one would ever suspect she was the mother the way these two looked so much alike.

They sat together, catching up on the things that happened in between the time of their separation. The idea of it all, made her want to laugh.

“You look amazing, by the way. Motherhood looks good on you.”

Brienne snorted at the idea of looking good.

“I hardly sleep or eat when I’m home but I’ll take the compliment.”

“Yes, you have to take it,” Jaime gazed at her across the table. “I can’t tell you enough how much I missed seeing your face and hearing your voice.”

Brienne’s brows furrowed and she turned back to him.

“Listen,” Jaime began, putting his hands up, “I know that there are some kinks in this relationship.”

“You left me to be with your wife.”

“And I’m divorced now. Or I’m getting divorced, either way, the affair is dying.”

Brienne watched him muse over that in silence. He seemed very sad to be saying that aloud and something told her that he was still pretty broken up about Cersei.

His eyes focused on his glass of water. “Things are so messy in my life now. I never wanted it to be like this. I never thought Cersei and I would ever... there's so much I have to think about now that Gabriel is here.”

“Think about …?” Her face screwed up in confusion.

“About having a son, being a _dad_.”

Brienne could feel the world closing in on her. Gabriel was napping in the stroller now that Jaime had calmed and soothed him. She put a hand on his chest  No, that wasn’t fair to call him those names. He had just found out about his son only hours ago. It wasn’t even a full day. It was a lot to take in.

But no, Brienne had never prepared herself to fall in love with a married man and get pregnant either. So here they both were and she wasn’t going to allow him to charm her into thinking that maybe he would around or maybe he wouldn’t.

“Jaime, I don’t want to place any pressure on you because Gabriel is great when it comes to love and care. There are plenty people that give him what he needs. I just didn’t think it was fair to live this life not telling you. So if you want to be in his life then that’s great. But if you don’t, that’s fine too. I’ll be fine. _We’ll_ be fine.”

“Brienne, that isn’t what I said. I just need _time_. You had time, didn’t you? You had nine months to prepare and assure yourself this is what you wanted. Yes?”

His words troubled her and she looked down at her leg as it began to rapidly bob up and down.

“You would _think_ I had nine months but I spent _most_ of my pregnancy worried that I would be a terrible mother. That I was going to ruin his life. And all that while I was physically puking up my pancreas. I was miserable, Jaime. I wouldn’t have made it without the Starks. So of course, maybe it does seem like I had time to prepare but I'm still doing this as I go along.”

“Do they know?” He asked softly.

“Catelyn and Sansa know.” He groaned outwardly at that. He knew Sansa frowned upon their affair when she and Brienne both realized he was never leaving Cersei. “Arya asks questions, maybe she suspects…. No one else knows.”

She thought of Tormund. She thought of their kiss. And she thought of them.

He did need to know and eventually she would tell him.

“I don’t think anyone else should know yet. I mean, I was married to Cersei. People are going to do the math if word gets out. I’m a celebrity attorney and people still care for some reason.”

“What are you saying?” She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward.

“I’m just saying that we need to approach this slowly.”

Brienne wanted to argue him on that but she simply nodded her head and leaned back in her chair. That was probably for the best. If Cersei’s fans were as venomous as she had often been, Brienne knew it was probably best to keep Gabriel and her lives as quiet as they could.

“So, what about arrangements? Should we wait on that, too?”

Jaime looked at her from across that table. The tips of his fingers drummed against the table top.

“No, no we shouldn’t wait on that. You were right, Brienne. Even if you had time to prepare you still didn’t really _have_ time either.” He sighed and ran his hand through his now perfectly coiffed hair.. She remembered when he wore it long, letting it brush against his shoulders.

“Listen, we’re parents. We’ll do this together. Can’t believe I’m saying that,” he looked off and laughed. “And maybe, who knows what the future holds… when you’re ready to invite me back into your life. I’ll be yours completely.”

Brienne kept quiet but she could see the hopeful look in his eyes. It took Cersei leaving him completely for him to see her, truly  _see_ that she could have been his. That wasn't much of a motivator to make her want to rekindle any old feelings she had for him. And she couldn't just get swept into the  _idea_ of Jaime Lannister either. His looks were his winning factor right now and his looks were the reason she was in the situation she was in now.

After lunch, before Brienne could even get home, she was already sending Tormund a text telling him that she would be staying late at work to help Podrick and Sansa all week so there was no need for him to come over and visit.

The lie felt terrible even when she sent the message but she was relieved he didn’t press her any farther or ask any questions. He just told her to take care of herself and not to overwork. 

Jaime was already sending her messages now, telling her that he was glad he was back in her life.

For a full week, she ignored Tormund or as she never wanted to admit: telling him careful, elaborate lies. He never questioned it, never bothered her. And then she began to lie more, telling him that it would go on into the next week.

He just said okay and each day she avoided him, the distance between them grew. Maybe he would just forget the kiss altogether and the crisis could be averted.

But Brienne knew that was silly because she hadn't forgot it. It was all she could think about. He had been very forthcoming from the beginning about his attraction to her and his affections for her. Always, it had been her decision on how she responded to it. She wasn't proud of her behavior right now.

The following Monday after the lies piled up like dirty laundry, Brienne was walking up to her apartment, tired and over the day completely. She shuffled through her purse, looking for her keys as she headed down the hall of apartments.

His voice was gruff and she could hear the hurt behind it before she had seen his face.

“How long are you going to keep lying to me?"


	11. Always Had The Upper Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It definitely was not my intention to have so much time in between the previous chapter and this one but I assure you, it's only because I've been writing the following chapters to come! I appreciate you for being so patient with me and I'm glad that you are still with me and enjoying the story! Title is from Sia's "Fair Game" which I think describes Brienne and Tormund so perfectly!

“How long are you going to keep lying to me?”

Brienne’s keys jingled in her hand and she stood a few feet away from Tormund. She didn’t expect him to be pleased seeing her but the look of hurt on his face startled her in ways she did not think it would.

Lying to him. She  _ had _ been lying to him. 

“Let’s discuss this inside, where we can have more privacy.”

“No, I think we need to have this discussion right here. Right now.”

Brienne silently watched him move closer to her in the hallway. She sighed and clasped the keys tightly in her hands and motioned for him to continue with a nod of her head.

“You see, I didn’t bother questioning why you suddenly were working late the entire week. That’s your business and I respected that. I figured mostly that our kiss may have scared you a bit. But the way your body  _ responded  _ to me was not a fluke, Brienne. That was real. I  _ felt _ you. You molded into me…” he went silent and looked away from her.

It seemed as though Tormund was either waiting for her to stay something or thinking carefully about what he was going to say next. Afraid of what  _ she _ would say, Brienne chose to be silent.

“Usually, if I’m trying to avoid someone I try and make sure my friends are in on it. Sansa was helping Jon all week. I knew this even when you lied to me. I kept telling myself to just wait because I know you’ve got your reason for this but a week had passed and you never came.” He paused. “Am I wrong for coming to you? We’re friends, right? I mean, if Jon lied to me I’d go to him  _ so fast _ .”

He shut up quickly and looked away, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head.

“And then, I thought about the lie and how maybe you were just avoiding me because of our kiss but you liked that kiss. I know you did. So I’m going to ask again. Why are you lying to me?”

“Gabriel’s father…”

“Gabriel’s father?” Tormund ran his hands through his hair and Brienne’s eyes drifted up to them in a brief moment of distraction. “What - what does he have to do with this?”

“It’s such a long story, Tormund. I don’t really know where to begin. Maybe if you just come inside and-”

“I don’t want to come inside,” the directness in his tone sent chills down Brienne’s spine. 

Still. 

Even though he was angry with her, she couldn’t hide the attraction she had for him. He wasn’t going to come inside and this was the second time she requested it. So they would have the conversation right here in this hallway.

“Fine,” Brienne looked down and sighed loudly, “yes, I lied to you.”

“I didn’t ask if you lied to me I asked  _ how long _ you are going to keep lying to me. We’ve already established that you did and you are terrible at it, by the way.”

He pressed a palm flat to the wall and leaned there, taking a casual stance. Brienne watched him prop against the wall and bit down on her bottom lip. She struggled with the way she could explain this without sounding like a terrible person but each and every scenario did not end in her favor.

“The thing with Jaime is that, it was all very strange. He was married and then we were together but then he decided to go back to his wife. I couldn’t tell him. Or I should say that I didn’t tell him about Gabriel.”

“So the entire time…?”

“Yes, the entire time you’ve known me I have been holding that secret in. I was so scared when I found out that Jaime was going back to his wife, I just thought it worked out best if I didn’t tell him about our son.”

Tormund shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly nodded his head.

The circumstances under which she and Jaime had fallen in love were very wrong but she knew that the love was their. It was real.

“Do you still love him? Jaime?”

Brienne frowned and felt herself hesitating to answer. Now she really felt horrible because no, she wasn’t in love with Jaime anymore but to say that she felt  _ nothing _ for him seemed like another lie.

“I don’t really know.”

“If something happens with his father then what about us?”

“Uh-us?” Brienne stammered, gazing at Tormund.

“What happens with Gabriel and me?” His voice broke with emotion and the sound of it made her want to cry.

“Gabriel is still here, Tormund. If you want to see him you always can.”

“Jaime,” Tormund said his name aloud. “That’s Gabriel’s father.”

His declaration of Jaime only made her feel worse.

“Yes,” Brienne replied. “And I am confident that what we had was a real thing. Love is just so complicated and with all the layers that are there, it makes your mind and your heart a jumbled mess sometimes.

“When you love somebody, it shouldn’t be complicated. At least it isn’t for me. For me, it’s very simple. I love Gabriel and I love you.” He gave a shrug as he said it.

Her heart stopped.

“But I’m also an honest man and I know when my presence isn’t needed. I want Gabriel to have a good relationship with his father. He deserves that much, especially since you didn’t tell him about the boy in the first place.”

Truthful, but the words still stung her.

“If you want Gabriel’s father to be active in his life ...and yours then who am I to stop that?”

This was exactly the opposite of what she wanted but she couldn’t make herself move to at least stop him, to try and make this right.

Tormund clenched his jaw and stepped forward and she stood there, her eyes following him. He cupped the side of her neck and gave her a gentle kiss on the corner of her lips.

“I’ll see you around, Brienne.”

He pulled away from her and turned to leave. She grabbed the doorknob and put all her weight on it, feeling like she would collapse. 

_ Go after him, idiot. _ The words were loud and ringing in her ears but she couldn’t move and she didn’t try to either. She simply watched him leave and realized as soon as he was out of her eyesight that she had made the biggest mistake in her life. Brienne pressed her back to the door and looked down at the keys in her hand.

Maybe he was better off without her. As she headed inside to greet the nanny and scoop up Gabriel, she knew he deserved someone much better than her. And the memory of him leaving would forever stay in her mind like a black stain.

But it was her fault and there was no fixing it now. The damage had been done and there was no fixing this now.

Weeks went by, faster than she expected. Tormund’s presence left a very empty void in her life, even when she spent a few hours of the day with Jaime and the baby. He visited when he could even if it was often scarce. Between divorce proceedings and work, Jaime was consistently busy.

On the day that Gabriel turned five months, Jaime spent his evening with Brienne. They were sitting in the kitchen over a large box of pizza and a half-empty bottle of wine. Empty wine glasses sat in front of them accompanied by the remaining crust of devoured pizzas on paper plates. Gabriel had since passed out and was now lying in his crib, little fists curled into a ball and satiated expression on his sleeping face.

“You know, these were always my favorite times.” 

Every single evening they spent together, Jaime did this. He glanced at her longingly, reminiscing on their past times together. And every single evening, Brienne avoided it as best she could.

The memory of him always sounded lovely but Brienne also remembered that he had never spent a night at her place nor could they ever go out and walk hand in hand just in case someone would see them. All their time together had been restricted to her apartment and even now that he was going through a divorce, it seemed to be just the same. Things had not changed.

“Sitting in the kitchen eating greasy food?” 

Brienne grabbed their paper plates and got up from the table to throw them away. She could hear Jaime following behind her movements. He walked over and stood next to her as she dropped the pizza crusts in her compost.

“Brienne, I know it didn’t start out on the greatest of terms but I am truly living my best life now. I mean, my apartment is halfway empty and all my money from being an attorney is going to a divorce attorney but this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I have Gabriel. I have you. I finally have you freely.”

Freely. His definition of the word was much different from hers.

She placed her hands on the counter and looked out of the small window of the apartment kitchen.

Jaime’s hand lifted to take her chin and he slowly turned her that she was now facing him.

“I do have you, don’t I?”

At some point during Gabriel’s birth, whatever love she may have had for Jaime changed into something else. Something completely different. Did she still love him? Yes. Did she care for him? Absolutely. But…

“I’ve fallen in love with someone else,” she blurted out as he leaned in to kiss her, his lips a mere inch from hers.

They gazed at each other for a moment, still so very close to each other and then Jaime began to slowly pull back.

“I never ...suspected.”  
  
Truth be told, Brienne didn’t suspect it either. Love had a funny way of creeping on a person. All those times he came to visit her during her pregnancy, after the pregnancy - she was falling in love with him and her own damn stubbornness wouldn’t let her admit that. 

Now she stood in the kitchen with the father of her child, a man she had been willing to die for before her son was born, and she didn’t want him. 

Not much was said after that. Jaime helped her clean in silence and their goodbye was awkward but the weight was lifted from Brienne’s shoulders. She was in love with Tormund. Those conflicting feelings dealing with whether or not she loved Jaime were gone.

For good.

Having her son changed so much about her and she hoped it was for the better. The moment Gabriel was placed in her arms that day she gave birth, and the two of them looked at each other, both pretty damn worse for wear and looking like hell… it was so easy to let go of the fantasy of being Jaime Lannister’s. Gabriel was hers and she was wholeheartedly his. She had Sansa, Arya, the Stark family, Jon, and Tormund.

She  _ had _ Tormund. And wow, had she really fucked that up.

It was pretty late. She knew it was late but it didn’t stop her from calling him anyway. She wasn’t even sure what she was doing. One moment, she was sitting there thinking of what to say and then the next, she was picking up the phone to call him.

He didn’t pick up and it went to voicemail. She was very thankful for that. So very,  _ very _ thankful.

She didn’t bother leaving a message. The moment the voicemail asked her to leave a message, Brienne hung up her phone, realized she was making a mistake, and reached over to turn off the light. 

The next day, Tormund did not return her call. Nor did he the day after that. And soon a week had passed.

And eventually, Gabriel was nearing his seventh month.

Brienne wasn’t sure what hurt more, the fact that he didn’t answer when she called or that he didn’t return it.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“So just like that, he didn’t call you back?” Sansa asked Brienne for the hundredth time as they drove to the Stark household together. Actually, Sansa did the driving while Brienne did the riding.

“No, he didn’t call me back!” Brienne almost shouted. 

Car rides always put Gabriel to sleep so he barely even flinched when Brienne yelled. And Sansa didn’t even seem bothered by it, she merely shook her head and laughed.

“Brienne, your timing is awful. I say this in the way that only a sister can say it,” her tone was sympathetic enough but it didn’t stop the irritation settling in Brienne’s mind.

She had been the only person to know of Brienne and Jaime’s reconciliation and path to co-parent Gabriel. At this point, Brienne decided that when Jaime was comfortable and ready to let others know, she would go along. The situation with he and Cersei’s divorce was so complicated.

“I know I shouldn’t have called so late. That was weeks ago though and my only sneaking suspicion of that is that he hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Sansa pulled into the driveway. Jon’s truck was parked on the street in front of the house. “He’s just trying to keep a respectful distance, Brienne.”

“I would hate me,” Brienne said softly.

“Yes but it’s not you. It’s Tormund.” Brienne turned around in the car to unbuckle Gabriel and Sansa’s voice went up an octave in surprise. “It’s Tormund!”

Brienne froze as Gabriel’s eyes widened from his sleep. He looked up at his mother and immediately began to cry. In the middle of his sixth month, he began teething. His new way to communicate was either through agitated whines or loud cries. These past two months had been an absolute terror.

Gabriel rubbed his eyes as he cried and Brienne pulled him from his car seat up to the front with her.

She turned around to see Tormund walking up the driveway with Jon, the both of them in deep conversation. Tormund’s hands were moving around as he spoke while Jon nodded his head.

Brienne looked at Sansa, who had apologetic expression.

“I didn’t know he was going to be here.”

She didn’t expect her to know. Since their conversation in the hallway, Tormund had been absent from Stark family dinners. She didn’t even expect him to be here!

Brienne had been counting on the opportunity so much that she was giving herself pep talks before Sansa would pick her up. Actually  _ seeing _ him after two months of nothing was a shock to say the very least. Her defenses had lowered and all those great things she wanted to say were now forgotten. 

Now she sat in the passenger seat of Sansa’s car with a crying Gabriel in her lap, wondering just what the hell she was going to say to him when they had no choice but to be around each other.


	12. The Wildling Beer Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never intended to leave the cliffhanger ending for the chapter that long off. I spent a lot of time trying to make sure this chapter made a lot of sense. And so after a few re-writes, I deemed it decent enough to share. Thank you guys for all the reviews and love. I just really appreciate it. SO MUCH! I have gone through this with a fine tooth comb so I hope there aren't too many grammatical errors.
> 
> I made a mini mood board for the story.
> 
>   
>   
> 

It was hard  _ not _ to avoid him when he was standing there with Jon, looking as handsome as ever. Even in the chilly weather, he had his sleeves rolled up showing off his big tattooed arms. Brienne was good at pretending, she could steal glances and openly admire without being caught so she pretended she didn’t see them talking or notice how his arms flexed as he talked with Catelyn. Whenever he and Jon started talking about their brewery there was no way he could possibly be paying attention to her. And that was her saving grace.

“Hello, Brienne,” oh but he  _ was _ paying attention to her. He was now standing next to her as Catelyn assigned kitchen tasks to everyone as they got ready for dinner.

Somehow, she just coincidentally placed these two together and left them with the responsibility of setting the table. After coaxing Gabriel with soothing sounds and some nibbles on her finger, Brienne finally got him down for a nap.

“Hi,” she looked over at him and put the plates neatly on the table. He followed behind her with forks, spoons, and knives.

“Sorry I didn’t call you back, we’ve been busy. So busy. The brewery’s opening in a few weeks.”

“Really? Wow, that’s amazing. I bet you guys are excited.”

“We’re excited and sleep deprived,” he laughed. She really missed that laugh. 

She attempted her best casual voice as they moved around the table. Just because she missed him didn’t mean he had to  _ know _ .

“I can’t wait to see this Wildling Beer Company,” she smiled to herself and paused with a plate in her hand. 

Tormund shushed her, putting a finger to his lips and smirking.

“Shh, no one’s supposed to know the name yet. Remember I told you that Jon would kill me. That’s  _ our _ little secret.”

Brienne swallowed, thinking about the kiss and the two of them locked eyes with each other. Just as she opened her mouth to tell him that she missed him and she definitely missed .... _ this _ , Rickon came into the dining room with a large bowl of the only thing Arya Stark would ever know how to prepare: a green salad. She immediately went back to setting the table and Tormund quietly did the same with the utensils. Of course, just as she buiding the nerve to say what she wanted, it quickly disappeared.

During dinner, Tormund and Jon unofficially invited everyone to their brewery. They still didn’t share the name, much to the frustrations of Sansa and Catelyn but neither women pushed the information from them. Brienne reveled in the fact that she knew it before everyone else.

Gabriel stayed close to Catelyn this time around, poor little Lyanna had been replaced by someone smaller and cuter.  It was the downfall of adorable babies. He was still fussy but his cries had been reduced to a few whines. He had been gifted with a piece of carrot to nibble on to help ease the soreness of his gums.

Personally, Brienne could have left him with Catelyn and never looked back. While he was teething, her bed had become the place of fellowship for her and her son. When Jaime had time to come around and it wasn’t often because of divorce proceedings and his own work, she took advantage of those moments and snuck in a nap.

The past few weeks had been a very scarce week of Jaime being present and it was killing Brienne. How was it that Gabriel was finally sleeping for a full night but now that he was teething she felt like she was in the early months of motherhood again?

Needless to say, after dinner when everyone went off to play football or rugby or whatever the hell it was they did, Brienne took that opportunity to sit in one of the lawn chairs and close her eyes. Gabriel was carted off and passed around from his Sansa to Bran to Arya. And what did she do in the meantime? She slept.

Entrusting Gabriel with the Stark family took absolutely little to no effort. Her eyes were closed and she was off in La La Land as they did god knows what with the baby.

When she did finally wake up, Talisa was sitting next to her and nodding off, too.

“Is this what motherhood does?” She asked in a groggy voice and Talisa laughed.

“It’s not even Lyanna,” Talisa said with a smile. “I’ve been working crazy shifts in the emergency room. Robb kind of hates the weird hours I have but I’ve been secretly enjoying it.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Brienne said with a smile.

There was a loud whoop and cheer, grabbing the attention of Brienne and Talisa. They turned to see Jon and Tormund high-fiving each other and Gabriel sitting on his hip like this was all very normal. Maybe it was normal, he didn’t even slip as he kicked the ball. It was the only time Gabriel wasn’t whining or crying. She was actually a bit jealous because he even giggled as he bounced on Tormund’s hip as he trotted down the yard and kicked the ball from Jon’s grasp. Getting him to laugh was a task these past few weeks. Brienne looked at Gabriel’s tiny fist clutching the shoulder of Tormund’s shirt tightly. She bit down on her bottom lip.

She watched as held her son protectively, moving smoothly over the lawn while still being a pro at kicking the ball. When he kicked it past Robb and Rickon missed it, Arya cheered loudly throwing her arms high above her head.

He looked down at Gabriel with a goofy grin and Gabriel gazed up at him, then reached his other hand up to grab on tightly to his beard. He yanked down hard and Tormund’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“You got a grip there, don’t you champ?”

Gabriel squealed at the top of his lungs and pulled harder. Everyone watched the exchange and began to laugh. Brienne looked at his sock-covered feet, watching them arch as he continued to pull on his beard. Brienne pushed herself up from the lawn chair and walked over to the lawn to grab Gabriel from Tormund’s clutches, decidedly saving Tormund from the grip of Gabriel Tarth.

His grip was strong, strong enough to make Tormund yelp when she finally did get him away. His little face turned red and screwed up to get ready for a good cry and Brienne gave Tormund a little laugh.

“He loves you,” she laughed.

“Only him?”

Brienne frowned and Tormund nodded his head and looked away.

“Are we doing this!?” He asked Arya and she nodded her head. No one else heard his comment and Brienne stood there for a moment, cradling the back of Gabriel’s head as he buried it into her bosom. He was starting to whine again and she decided to take him inside and prepare a bottle.

The sounds of their game faded into the distance as she walked through the back entrance, into the kitchen. She pulled a bottle from the refrigerator and had a time getting Gabriel to feed. Weaning was also a problem she never thought she would have to deal with. Sometimes, he would just put his head on her breasts and whine. It was amusing but also increasingly frustrating. They briefly fought for control of her breasts but once he got his bottle, he was just fine.

She paced around the kitchen with him nestled in one arm, gently bouncing him and the other hand on her hip.

A soft hum came from her as he downed the bottle greedily, staring up at her.. His large, blue eyes didn’t even blink as he was much too focused on the bottle. He’d eaten a bit of mushed dinner while they sat at the table but his best friend was still the bottle.

Anytime she wanted to get the nerve to actually talk to Tormund like an adult, something happened and she found herself unable to speak. There was something about the intensity in his eyes that choked her up, made her feel dizzy, and she couldn’t speak. Her palms would get sweaty and her stomach would tighten… she could never properly explain it.

She didn’t think she would ever be able to explain that. So she stood in the kitchen and watched him get a little rougher on the field now that he didn’t have Gabriel attached to his hip. He slipped past Robb and Jon, easily deflecting their attempted double team and pointed at Rickon, kicking the ball hard and so fast, Rickon didn’t even bother try and stop it. He turned around and jumped high in the air while Arya threw her older brothers a middle finger on each finger.

“Arya, is that necessary?” Catelyn shouted at her.

Brienne shook her head and laughed.

Gabriel made a slurping around as he pulled the bottle away and before he could throw it, she made a quick save and sat it on the counter.

“Manners, little boy,” she chided him with a smile. 

When she looked back up, she caught Tormund looking through the window at her. She offered him a smile and he returned it, turning back to the game. At least he was smiling back at her, right? That was always a good sign.

  
  


\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Be still!” Sansa fussed, slapping Brienne’s hand away as she finished putting the mascara on her lashes. 

Brienne kept smoothing her hand down over the sides of her head, quietly admiring the hair stylist’s work.  A haircut was long overdue and she was pleased with the curls that stopped just barely past her ears. Now, she sat still, as still as she could anyway, in Sansa’s car as her friend applied finishing touches on her makeup.

This was her first evening out without it being a grocery store or at Sansa’s house and she wanted to enjoy herself and be her best grown up. She wanted to feel pretty and she was owed that small bit of happiness.

“It’s hard to be still when you’re poking me in the eyes.”

“Oh, don’t be so sensitive!” Sansa fussed. “You broke your entire arm four years ago and didn’t even flinch.”

“That’s because  _ I _ broke my arm. It’s not the same as being poked in the eye!”

“Yeah well what are you going to do when you get some Tormund junk in your eye?”

Brienne choked on air at Sansa’s brashness and she almost ruined her hard makeup work nearly dying at that comment.

“Ah, there. We’re done. Okay. See, it didn’t even take that long.”

“That was the longest fifteen minutes of my life,” Brienne grumbled. She flipped the mirror down and admired Sansa’s work.

“Amazing, right?” Sansa nodded her head and climbed out of the car. The  _ Wildling Beer Co. _ was the first thing they saw in large, white cursive at the top and center of the building. 

“Of course they did,” Sansa looked up at the large sign and snorted.

“I like it,” Brienne put a hand on her hip and admired it. 

“You already knew about it, didn’t you?” Sansa looked over at her and Brienne’s eyes went wide with shock.

“How would I know? Honestly, Sansa, how would I know the title?” She couldn’t even look her in the face.

“You’re an awful liar and I’d bet a lot of money that Tormund would spill this title to you without even blinking.”

“Actually, he got a kiss out of me so there is that.”

Brienne walked off and Sansa followed behind her. She didn’t say anything else and both women were quietly agreeing that it was enough leverage since neither one of these men were telling anyone their secret. 

Sansa tried to get her in heels but it just wasn’t happening. She opted for a pair of blue creepers that went with the slacks she wore and a white button down shirt. She left the mini-dress, which was black and gold, and the black heels to Sansa. If she was going out she wanted to be her best, comfortable self.

They made their way into the building, leaving Brienne surprised that the bar area was smaller than she originally thought it would be. The running theme seemed to be rustic, dark woods and a brick accent wall greeted her and Sansa. It was crowded beyond belief but when Brienne saw the large black chalkboard sign that had 

**_DRINK TIL WE RUN OUT! OPEN BAR!_ **

she knew it was packed because of the free alcohol. The brewing station was cut off and hidden and took up most of the space.

“Ooh, I wonder if we can get a little tour of that.”

“On Mondays and Thursdays you can!” Jon crept up behind them. Both Sansa and Brienne looked over their shoulders at him and smiled.

“God, it looks so good,” Sansa was in awe.

Honestly, Brienne was too. She had only helped them budget and she did find different contractors but really, all this was Tormund and Jon’s hard work. She also introduced them to Missandei, who she met at her Lamaze classes, an interior decorator that understood just what Tormund and Jon wanted despite their hard to translate interpretations.

There was one photo on the brick wall and it was of Tormund and Jon with their arms over each other’s shoulders. Tormund towered over Jon and it was almost comical. There were big, proud smiles on their faces and she couldn’t help but be happy gazing at the picture.

“Where is Tormund?” Sansa asked, almost reading Brienne’s thoughts. She did wonder where he was.

“He’s over at the bar, serving drinks. I think he’s just trying to impress his date.”

Brienne frowned and looked from Jon to Sansa. Worry crept over her immediately. A date? He had brought a date?! He wasn’t supposed to do that! Jon began to lead them over to the bar, clearing a path so they could greet Tormund. She looked over to see Bran DJing at a small booth in the corner. Sansa scoffed at the sight of her younger brother, moving around like he actually knew what he was doing.

“Don’t worry,” Jon assured her, “I think he only brought her because he was trying to get her to bring more people. We’re businessmen now!”

That did not make her feel better. She decided she would change the topic.

“I didn’t know Bran could DJ,” Brienne marveled.

Before Jon could say anything, Sansa cut him off, “He isn’t DJing. My guess is that Tormund or Jon probably liked his Itunes playlists and offered to let him DJ for a small fee.”

“Actually he’s doing it for free but Tormund promised he would help him fix up this old car he purchased and give him a never ending supply of beer.”

“He can’t even drink yet,” Brienne frowned. 

Jon went quiet and Brienne shook her head, laughing.

“Well, don’t tell mum,” Sansa said very seriously, as if she wasn’t drinking in college long before the appropriate age.

“Well, we’re hoping the ale will be too strong for him that he’ll hate it. It’s good to see you out of the house, by the way.” He turned to Brienne. “Where’s Gabriel?”

“He’s with his father, which we can discuss at a later time.” Jon’s brows perked up and he leaned back to look at her.

She was not ready for Jon to know about Jaime Lannister being the father of her child. She and Jaime had slowly built up her own security of leaving him completely alone for the weekend with his dad. Naturally, Brienne was on call twenty four hours in the event that something happened but Jaime told her not to worry. So, she would just have to try her hardest and not worry too much about him tonight.

“How did you hide the company name on the building?” Sansa saved Brienne with a quick change of subject.

Jon was already pretty impressed with his answer before he even spoke. 

“We literally painted it the night before.”

“But it needed to dry,” Sansa chimed in, “so how did it dry?”

“Now  _ that _ is our little secret but I’m sure Tormund’ll be keen on telling Brienne the moment he gets a chance. He can’t keep a secret from this one.”

It was more like  _ couldn’t _ since everything now seemed in past tense.

“Wait, how do you know he told me about the title?” Brienne asked.

“I didn’t!” Jon pointed to her and laughed, “I just suspected because he’s always going on and on about you. I  _ figured  _ he would tell you in order to impress you.”

So he was still talking about her? That small nugget of information surprised her.

“What else does he say?” Sansa narrowed her eyes.

“What else does  _ who _ say?” Tormund had finally worked his way over to where the trio stood. He approached with a casual stance, joyful smile on his face. Though he looked the part of a bartender, there were others working behind him. He was more or less, a Wildling Beer Co. novelty.

“Brienne and Sansa’s boss,” Jon said with a smile.

She gave him a look of relief when he lied and Jon tossed her a wink in return.

“You look good,” Tormund turned his attention to Brienne, giving her an appreciative once over. 

She looked down at her outfit and then back to Tormund, “Thank you. You look pretty great, too.”

And he did. While he didn’t try to pull his hair back into a ponytail like Jon, it was combed and brushed neater than she had ever seen. His tattoos were hidden in a plaid button down shirt, and he wore his best jeans with minimal rips. His beard was trimmed, only just a little and from where she sat across from him, she could smell his cologne and it smelled amazing. In her creepers, she stood over him, taller than everyone in their crowd right now but that didn’t stop his eyes from roaming over her legs and dress shirt. 

“I was just telling Tracey about the time Jon almost lost a limb trying to put up kegs on his own. I love you, but you really are the dumbest fucker I know!”

They all laughed at Tormund’s colorful display of love for Jon.

“Where is your date, by the way?” Sansa looked around.

Tormund pointed to the end of the bar and a petite brunette stood there, modestly drinking a beer.

“Which brew is that?” Jon asked, sounding very proud of his creation with his best friend.

Brienne couldn’t help but look at his date and wonder what on earth made him choose her. She was so different from, well, her. She was petite, long brunette hair down her back, very beautiful but just so ...not her. So not her that it unsettled her and she wondered if she really should say something to him, to try and patch things up. Just because he had said she looked good, that didn’t mean he wanted to reconcile and he had shown up with a date.

What was she doing? This was a waste of time, she realized.

“She’s drinking the original flavor. You see, we have a bunch of try-outs we’re working through!” He spoke up louder so he could get the attention of others around him, “We’re so good, you’ll fall in-fucking-love with us!”

_ Too late for that _ , Brienne thought.

He slapped the counter and a few people cheered him on.

“I’m going to serve you,” he pointed to the trio. “And I know exactly what to give you.”

The official seal for the beer was a drawing of a bear and a wolf, side by side. It was very fitting, considering the large bear tattoo on his arm. He put three beers in front of them and pointed them out.

“Stark House Brew for you, nice and bitter like your moods,” Jon shot him a look.

“Ginger Demon, got a nice cider mixed in there. You’ll love it,” he winked at Sansa and she was already tipping it back.

“And this is the Pale Ale, mix of lemon tart and honey.”

As he pushed the drink towards her, Brienne let the tips of her fingers graze his hand. He looked at her for a moment then laughed.

“I’ll be right back.”

But he didn’t return as fast as she thought and Brienne could see him talking with Tracey out of the corner of her eye. She threw her head back with laughter and Tormund leaned forward on the counter. Brienne turned away from them, only to meet Sansa who was looking at her with a stern expression.

“What?” She lifted the beer and observed the bottle. The lining around the neck of it was yellow. She leaned over to look past Sansa’s narrowed eyes and call on Jon, “Oi, is there a reason this has yellow and you two have red?”

“Oh, it’s just the lighter flavor,” Jon was already getting lost in some conversation with a woman.

Brienne leaned back and nodded her head, “So I have a lighter flavor. Does he not think I can hold my liquor?”

She turned the bottle around, watching the droplets of water move down and drip onto their wood counter.

“Are you going to do anything about this or are you going to let another woman take your man?” Sansa had had enough.

She grabbed Brienne’s drink and sat it down on the counter.

“Excuse me, take my man?” Brienne laughed. “Sansa, it’s 2017. Can we not be so primitive?”

“You said that tonight you were going to tell him how you feel. It’s tonight! I need you to pace this a little faster, Brienne. Some of us are dying.”

“Who’s dying?” Brienne asked and Sansa shrugged, “Not me but some of us are…”

Brienne rolled her eyes and went back to her drink. She lifted and took a sip, surprised at just how great it tasted. She liked the sweetness of the honey mixed in the drink and as she swallowed, that tart flavor hit her taste buds.  

“No Brienne, I am serious.” Sansa looked at her with fierce eyes to prove how serious she was. “Tormund is here on a  _ date _ at grand opening of his business with someone else that isn’t you! And you can pretend like you’re fine but I know that you aren’t! I know how you are. You told me you wanted to fix this and this is your chance.”

Brienne twirled her finger around the rim of the drink and looked to her left to see Tormund, busy serving drinks now. She gazed long enough for him to feel her eyes on him and looked up in her direction. She smiled and lifted the drink to tip it in his direction and he nodded his head.

Fine, after this grand opening then she would tell him.

But an after the grand opening conversation never came. Brienne and Tormund stole glances at one another during the night and by midnight, his date was ready to go home. At least that’s what Brienne learned when she came back from using the bathroom. 

Sansa had invited Podrick and the two of them were dancing as Bran continued DJing. Sansa’s intake of alcohol had reached a level that made her way more comfortable with Podrick, dancing and swaying to Beyoncé’s  _ Love On Top _ . It was adorable and Brienne wouldn’t let them stop their connection. She stepped through the crowd to find Jon behind the counter now, cheering people on and fixing drinks with the bartender.

She looked around and frowned when she couldn’t spot Tormund. Neither he or his date were in sight.

“Jon, where is Tormund?” 

Jon had two beers in his hand and a grin plastered on his face. Clearly, he had been doing more drinking than serving.

“Oh, well, Tracey needed to go home. She’s got work or something,” he shrugged.

Brienne nodded her head.

“You got anything stronger than this?” She motioned to the beers.

“Sure thing.”

Jon handed out the beers to two men standing next to Brienne. He crouched down low and poured a shot glass of brown liquor and pushed it in her direction. She lifted it and tilted her head back, downing it in one gulp.

Very quick pause. 

She could feel stars behind her eyes and a brief, sickening sensation in the pit of her stomach.

“What was that?” She released a shaky breath and placed a hand over her stomach.

“Jack Daniels!” Jon said.

Brienne pulled her phone from her clutch bag and sent for an Uber as she was leaving. Her Uber driver was a Mary, a middle aged woman that talked quite a bit. She listened to a radio station and spoke with Brienne about her children. Brienne let the woman ramble on, trying to figure out what she would say to Tormund. Nothing sounded right, even in her head.

_ Tormund I’m sorry that I’m a complete mess and it took me so long to realize what I should have realized ages ago. Really, I do want to try this out with you. Work it out. Do  _ **_something_ ** .  _ I know that my timing in all this is so very wrong but please, I hope you forgive me… _

No, that was stupid. God that sounded  _ so  _ stupid.

_ I want to give it a try and we can work this out. You, me, baby makes three? _

Oh, god that was WORSE.

_ Tormund, I- _

“Alright, darling, here you are!”

Brienne nodded her head and slowly slid from the backseat.

“I’m sure whoever they are loves you, too.”

Mary drove off and Brienne frowned. Had she been talking out loud? She headed up the walkway and looked over her shoulder again. Though she hadn’t been physically inside Tormund’s apartment, she knew the address and remembered exactly where he stayed. There were several times she sat waiting in the car for him while he ran to pick something up from his apartment, she was sure she could find it.

The thunder rolled overhead and she looked up to the sky. This was the last thing she needed. 

She had to make her way down a winding path of pavement and past a courtyard to get to his apartment. On her way to his apartment, she could feel the light drizzle. God, please let him be here.

Finally reaching his apartment door, Brienne took a deep breath and knocked.

And knocked.

And knocked.

And knocked some more.

But he wasn’t home.

He had taken her home. 

She looked around and knocked again.

Giving up, Brienne pulled out her phone and scheduled an Uber ride home. She could have easily gone back to the brewery and pretended like everything was fine but it wasn’t. Sansa was having so much fun dancing with Podrick and she just didn’t want to ruin that with her sadness about Tormund possibly having sex with his date.

She sent a text to Sansa telling her that she would talk to her tomorrow and headed home the moment her Uber arrived, sad and alone.


	13. The Only One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this chapter is up and ready. I made it a goal to have this completed before I uploaded the previous chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for the reviews and kudos! You have truly made writing this fic more enjoyable than I already enjoyed writing it!

The walk back to her apartment was a long and lonely one. Hope had her thinking Tormund would be outside the door but practicality told her there would be no such thing. And naturally, she was right. She almost slipped and fell in her shoes when she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She did a funny sort of flail to keep herself balanced and paused to look around the quiet, empty apartment. Rain soaked and emotionally spent, Brienne pulled off each shoe one by one and sat them down in the kitchen. She began to unbutton the blouse that clung to her as she made her way down the hall and into her bedroom. 

In the bathroom she went and she caught sight of herself in the mirror and a deep frown set in her features.

Her hands fell to her sides and she felt the sting of tears threatening their way down her face.

“No,” she said sternly, glaring at her reflection.

The mascara had run, leaving black lines down her face in a trail of sadness. Her hair was a mess, hanging like wet noodles around her face face and she really was a pathetic sight to behold. When her face screwed up, she thought in a sad sort of amused way, that she and Gabriel looked exactly alike when they cried. 

Which was what she did, loud and hard.

She grabbed a handful of tissues from the roll and dramatically threw her face into the small bundle, crying her eyes out.

How had she managed to ruin this so badly? Tormund had moved on and he didn’t … he didn’t love her anymore. It hurt so badly, she thought she would be sick from it. She sniffed and pushed her wet hair from her face, smoothing it back. Not only had she completely ruined everything with Tormund but now she was sitting in her bathroom, almost soaked to the bone and crying herself into a blubbering mess.

After she cried a good while, she forced herself to stand and finished unbuttoning her top, tossing it into the tub. She spent most of her Friday and Saturday worrying about Jaime being left alone with Gabriel but now the moment to wallow in misery peacefully was welcomed. She didn’t want to tend to a fussy baby while she was behaving like one herself. She would grab a bottle of wine from the cupboard and curl on the couch and watch Netflix, getting lost in all those cheesy romantic comedies she loved so much. At least someone would get the love they deserved, even if it was fictional.

Before she could get to the wine, there was a knock on her door and she just  _ knew _ it was Sansa. She got a quick look of her reflection and groaned loudly. Her nose and cheeks were red, her eyes were getting puffy with black smudge underneath her eyes. The goth look wasn’t her best look but her red-rimmed eyes weren’t either. The lipstick had disappeared but there was the lingering tint of pink there. With a groan, she tried to clean her face up as best she could. She didn’t want her to see her crying like this.

She ignored the text messages that Sansa sent but she wouldn’t be able to turn her away from the door. Sansa would knock until one of Brienne’s neighbors called the cops.

Now, naturally, Sansa was here to tell her that things would be fine. But she knew things wouldn’t be fine. She loved Tormund, really loved him and now she had lost him. It was going to make her sick to death to see him with another woman because the very thought of it drove her mad. She was trying to push thoughts of him being with another woman from her mind but she just couldn’t stop herself and her cheeks felt hot and her nose was running again. Quickly, she wiped it and took a deep breath.

More knocking.

“In a minute!” She shouted and successfully hid any lingering emotion in her voice.

There was no shirt in reachable distance and she gave up, making her way to the front door. Sansa had seen her fully nude twice by accident and once in the gym locker room - a little bra wasn’t going to scare her off.

When she let her in, she could change and shower and all that stuff later but right now she just wanted to wallow in her sadness.

There was another set of knocks and Brienne headed down the hallway and went to the door and unlocked it, opening it wide.

But it wasn’t Sansa

“Listen to me and listen to me really well, Brienne Tarth.” Tormund pointed at her and took a step forward then he paused, taking in the sight of her. A frown appeared on his face and his expression softened.

“Have you been cry-”

But he didn’t get a chance to finish because Brienne had crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his. Her eyes closed upon contact and she relaxed as his arms wrapped around her, holding on to her tightly.

As he stepped forward, he closed the door behind him while their lips never left each other. His large hands splayed over her lower back and he returned the kiss as eagerly as she gave. 

Eventually she pulled back to look at him, her eyes filled with tears again. He took her face in his hands and his eyes seemed to blaze right through her, down to the very depth of her soul.

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

His expression did not change from the serious one it bore but he nodded his head.

“I knew this but it was just taking you too damn long.”

He pulled her back to him to kiss her again.

“Where’s the baby?” He asked in a gruff voice against her lips.

“With his dad, weekends… something like that,” she breathlessly replied.

“Are we…?”

Brienne decided he was asking too many questions. Her hands moved down to his shirt and began to unbutton it, quickly, her fingers trembling.

That was just the answer Tormund needed. His hands gripped her backside and before lifting her, he gave it a squeeze getting a small sound against his lips from her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and whispered into his ear, “Last room on the right.”

Nothing else was said as he carried her down the hall into her bedroom with ease. He made her feel like she was light as a feather and unbeknownst to him, that just made him all the more sexier. Brienne wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed over his shoulder, looking at the front door as it grew farther and farther away. When Tormund reached the bedroom, he sat her down on the edge of the bed and looked down at her before kneeling until he was on his knees between her legs.

He lifted his head to gaze up at her, resting his hands on her thighs. Brienne smoothed her hand over his hair, pushing it back. She leaned her head down to kiss him again, his semi-wet beard tickling her face. The rain hadn’t got the worst of him, his beard and hair only slightly damp.

Nervous anticipation settled in her stomach while she watched him push his unbuttoned shirt off and tossed it aside. She smiled at the idea of someone being covered in as many freckles as her, he even had them on his chest and shoulders. But it was nothing compared to how hairy and broad his chest was. He was soft around the middle but she liked it, his stomach big and round. Large hands moved up to unclasp her bra behind her back and they both laughed as he struggled a little with it.

“I’m a little nervous,” he admitted and Brienne found that to be the most endearing thing she would ever hear a man say.

“I’ll get it,” she said softly and moved her hands behind her back to unhook her bra.

She felt self-conscious with these new post-baby breasts. Before Gabriel, they were small and perky, pointing up towards the sky. Having a baby gave them the slightest bit of a droop and it wasn’t really  _ that _ bad but considering she could walk out the house without a bra once upon a time, this was still one of the many adjustments that came with motherhood. The plus side was that she had gone up a cup size and she did like the bounce they gave now.

“You’re perfect,” Tormund said in a whisper and slowly lifted up to gently push her back on the bed until she was lying down.

They both worked their way up the bed until Brienne’s head rested against the pillows but the moment they reached them, Tormund’s lips were on her again. His hands slipped down her side and up again, roaming over her newly exposed flesh and he fit a leg between hers to part her them. They got tangled together as they moved around on the bed, kissing each other with fierceness.

Tormund gently bit her bottom lip and her lips parted in a soft moan, granting his tongue access to hers. Brienne’s hands moved between their bodies to unzip his jeans and undo the button. He positioned himself to hover over her and she pushed his jeans and boxer briefs over his hips and behind. His head sunk down to kiss along her neck and collarbone while her hands rested over his now bare backside.

He tried his best to get out of his jeans without having to move but it was impossible and they were laughing against each other’s lips at his haste.

Finally, Tormund moved to lie on his back and push his jeans and boxer briefs off properly. Brienne’s eyes zeroed in on his erection that seemed to spring to life once it was free. In her mind, the day she watched him playing on the field - the day she’d told Catelyn she was pregnant, she imagined him for a fleeting moment with his big hands and legs and what it would be like but she didn’t realize he was actually as big as she had imagined.

“We can totally slow this down if you want to.”

Brienne’s eyes slowly moved back up to his face and she smiled. Oh no, she hadn’t had sex in more than a year and she had a lot of making up to do. 

“I told you, I want this.” She pressed her lips to his again, “I really want this.”

She unzipped her own pants but Tormund covered his hand with hers and slowly pushed it aside. He finished for her and watched as she lifted her behind in the air to get them down all the way. She tucked her lips and looked down at his hand resting on the lower part of her stomach. A softer belly replaced was once flat and lined with muscles from athletics and heavy exercising. 

“I’ve gone through some changes,”she began but Tormund didn’t care. He only smiled at her before his fingers crept lower until she felt the tips of his fingers finding her clitoris.

Brienne’s eyes fluttered shut and her head fell back, giving Tormund access to her neck. Already, she had taken a handful of the blanket in her hand and parted her legs a little wider for him. Her hips instinctively pushed against his fingers as they moved around in teasingly slow and lazy circles. A gasp here and a sigh there and soon his fingers were engulfed in wetness. 

His tongue slowly dragged across her neck and then he bit, not too hard but just enough to get her to utter his name in a soft whimper.

“Is that how you like it?” He asked against her skin and she tried to answer but words failed her.

She didn’t need to say anything though, he knew enough. Her hips lifted up and down, rolling back and forth until she felt that sensation pooling in her stomach. She gasped and grabbed his wrist but he didn’t stop, she didn’t  _ want _ him to stop. She didn’t  _ need  _ him to stop. If he stopped, she would die. 

“I’m -  _ I’m- _ ” she cried out and her orgasm washed over her, making her grip on his wrist tighten.

“That’s alright, baby. Let it happen,” he coaxed and she trembled, his fingers eventually slowing to a stop. 

He left a trail of her wetness on her stomach as his hands slipped back up out of her underwear.

His hand rested there for a moment and he looked down at her with a smile on his face. When his hand pulled away, she slipped her underwear off and kicked them off the bed. Tormund licked his lips and turned on his back. He pulled her with him until she was straddling his waist. His erection was throbbing against her thigh as she hovered over him, knees pressed down deep into the mattress.

She gazed down at him and kept her eyes locked on his while he took his length in his hand and moved it back and forth against her entrance. As her hips slowly rocked, he gingerly guided himself into her and lowered her down. A great gasp escaped her lips and she held on to his shoulders as her eyes slowly shut.

He held his hips surprisingly very still as she let her body adjust to him. His hands, calloused and rough were placed on her hips.

Tormund still had a tight grasp on her hips and he lowered her down even farther and she cried out loudly despite her attempt not to. A low, throaty chuckle came from him and she let him control her hips, digging her nails into his shoulders as he picked up a rhythm.

While they made love and he filled her with each thrust, her cries for him grew louder. Tormund’s hands moved from her hips to her breasts, giving them a tender squeeze and the sensation was enough to make her moan loudly. She willingly let Tormund control her hips, enjoying the way kept one hand on a hip now while the other rested on the dip in her waist, pushing her down as he thrusted up.

His hips became faster and Brienne began to bounce and roll her hips. He sat up in the bed and wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her bosom as she cradled the back of his head. She rested her head atop his as he grip around her tightened. 

The motions of his hips became jerky and uncontrollable until he grunted her name loudly and he was coming, spilling his seed into her. Thank god she was taking birth control regularly or that would have been a  _ serious _ problem.

His hips slowed to a halt but his hands were still splayed on her back. 

“Got carried away,” he said breathlessly.

She leaned back and smiled down at him, “No worries, we’ve got forever.”

He laughed and cupped the side of her face, “I really fucking love you. So much. You don’t know how much I do.”

It was all she needed to hear and they could talk about everything else they needed to discuss in the morning but for now, it was time to just lay here and enjoy the sound of their soft breathing. 

And they did just that.

Somewhere between Tormund smoothing her hair back and her snuggling against him, she had fallen asleep. When they both woke up in the middle of the night, chilled by the night air and wanting to get under the covers they ended up making love again.

Both their phones had messages from Sansa and Jon but those had eventually stopped and hopefully, they may have gotten the clue because Brienne and Tormund weren’t coming up from that bed for several hours.


	14. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lengthy space in between updates. I've been quite busy with holiday things and other writing BUT I have not and will not ever forget about this story. Thank you all so much for the many reviews and kudos. It's been a blast! There aren't many chapters left in this story but be on the look-out for more Brienne/Tormund from me!

Brienne held the phone in the crook of her neck as she moved around her small kitchen, fixing breakfast. She was on the phone with Jaime and they were discussing Gabriel.

“How is he?”

Not that she was too worried about Jaime taking care of him without her, but she made it a point to contact him even if he didn’t bother sending her any text messages or calls with questions about their son. Jaime seemed to be doing well and even though he had sent her a few text messages within the first moments of solo weekend parenting, she knew that he would get the eventual hang of it. 

“He’s fine,” Jaime sounded well-rested and wide awake. “Although, he’s napping now. Are you just waking up? It’s almost noon.”

She could hear the amusement in his voice.

“You were always an early riser, as far I can remember.”

“I had a late night,” she beat six eggs in a bowl, unsure of how much Tormund would eat.

Late night was an understatement. The only reason Brienne woke up so late was because she had spent most of the night getting in an hour or so of sleep then waking up alongside Tormund which would lead to kisses and of course sex. Sex, sex, and more sex. Not that she was complaining.

And between all that, he explained each tattoo to her while her fingers traced over each one. There were so many that she had given up at some point and decided she would learn about the story of them all over time. Besides the bear, there was a tattoo of an upside down triangle which apparently represented some mountain he climbed when he was younger. Then there was the tattoo of the grim reaper that he said he got at a strange time in his life in his twenties. He was going through a particularly reckless phase and had a point to prove. And of course, she couldn’t forget the Sagittarius tattoo on his wrist. That wasn’t even half of them and he wanted to add Wildling Beer Company one to his collection, too.

She may not have known every single tattoo yet but she did know he somehow made them very sexy.

“Late night?”

“Yes,” or at least, something like that, “I’m fixing breakfast so I should go and focus on that but thank you for updating me on Gabriel. I’m glad he isn’t giving you too much trouble on his first weekend with you.”

“Hey, he’s my son. Wouldn’t be a real test of parenthood if he didn’t, right?”

He chuckled lightly and then started to say something but stopped himself.

“What were you going to say?”

“I’m… glad that we have Gabriel.”

“I am, too.” And she genuinely smiled.

No matter what happened between them in the past, Gabriel was here and he was the best thing to ever come from any of this. He was Brienne’s blessing and despite the mistakes she made with Jaime, everything about having her son was oh so right. After she and Jaime said their goodbyes, Brienne spent the rest of her breakfast talking to Sansa.

“Good morning, glad to hear that you are alive.”

Sansa did not hid the icy tone in her voice. Brienne poured batter into the waffle maker.

“I’m sorry, Sansa. After I sent you the text message and decided to wallow in my self-pity and despair, Tormund came over to my place.”

“Did he?” Sansa’s iciness tone change to a honeyed one and Brienne tried very hard not to laugh at the transition.

“He did,” she replied. “And he stayed the night.”

Sansa gave a whispered “ _ yes _ ” and Brienne did laugh that time. 

“I’m so glad. Jesus, it’s about time. When he came back to the brewery looking for you, we told him that you had gone to his place.” 

He went looking for her?

“He must have spent forever trying to find you. And I know that love makes people dramatic in ways that they don’t need to be. I bet he didn’t even call you. I bet he just showed up at your door ready to realign the inner linings of your life.” She paused for dramatic effect, then continued, “And your cervix.”

Brienne nearly dropped the bowl of eggs she was beating.

“I hardly think that’s appropriate, Sansa Stark.”

“No, you know what isn’t appropriate? Leaving your friend to think that you had drowned yourself in your bathtub because you weren’t responding to her text messages. Now that is inappropriate. Are you making breakfast?”

“Yes?” she responded with hesitation and also confusion.

“Sex that good, hmm? Don’t ever remember you making breakfast for Jaime.”

Brienne ignored that subtle dig at her past relationship. No, she did not make breakfast for Jaime but that was mostly because they were always pressed for time. 

Never before did she have the freedom to fix breakfast or trace her fingertips over his skin, or kiss and laugh and play in bed without worrying about time or whether anyone would notice things seemed strange or off in his daily routine. She could openly love Tormund and not worry about what anyone thought. But they would take this slow.  _ She _ would take this slow. Just because he was lying in her bed completely naked (and snoring, by the way) and she was wearing his shirt and a pair of underwear after a night of some very long and very beautiful love making did not mean that she could not take this slow. She was going to do this the right way.

“So is he your boyfriend now? Is he going to take up all your time and I’ll never see you again?”

“Oh, please. You know that would never happen, Sansa. And I don’t know what he is. We’ve only just started.”

The idea that she would ever do something like that was actually laughable.

“I know, I’m just jealous. Nothing happened last night with Pod, by the way. I was entirely too drunk and Pod brought me home, slept on the couch, and said that he would not do  _ anything _ with me until I was completely sober and aware. Consent is so sexy.”

“It absolutely is.”

Their conversation lasted through Brienne’s cooking and she was actually amazed that Tormund somehow slept through this. Not that much was discussed when he came over but now she found herself reeling at the idea that she would be Tormund’s  _ girlfriend _ ? That sounded strange even as she said it in her mind. Girlfriend? She was hardly a girl and what they had was something that went beyond the title of friends. She wasn’t sure what she would call herself but right now, they needed to eat breakfast.

Of course when the bacon began to sizzle and the smell of cooking pork filled the apartment, Tormund took it upon himself to wake up. She could hear him shuffling down the hallway.

“Breakfast?”

Brienne looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. In all his ginger glory, he stood before her in black boxer briefs smoothing his hand over his round stomach. 

“Breakfast,” she said with a proud smile.

“You look beautiful,” he walked over and wrapped an arm around her, burying his face in the back of her head, “especially in my shirt.”

She put the bacon aside and the spatula slipped in her hand when his hands began to sneak under her shirt and paused just at the underside of her breasts.

“What’s this? No bra?” He seemed extremely pleased at this revelation.

“Good morning, by the way,” she mused.

“Mmm, good morning.”

His hands covered her breasts and she sighed a soft, pleased little sigh as he gently massaged them. Her eyes slowly closed and the tight grip she had on the spatula slipped until the utensil fell on the stove with a clang.

“I can’t keep my goddamn hands off you,” he groaned into her ear.

“Tormund, we are so close to breakfast and I am  _ so _ hungry,” her breathing hitched and she instinctively pressed herself against him.

“Alright, I’ll be a good boy and we’ll eat breakfast” he slowly,  _ slowly _ pulled his hands away and Brienne couldn’t even look over her shoulder at him, she was too busy blushing and trying not to laugh.

She could feel his eyes on her as she finished preparing breakfast. When she finally turned around to face him, he was sitting there ready to eat.

“So, I have a question,” she sat a plate down in front of him and one in front of her. After pouring coffee for the both of them, she sat down and finished, “what were you going to say to me last night? Before I kissed you?”

“What  _ was _ I going to say?” Tormund looked off in thought as his fork shuffled around eggs, bacon, and waffles. His attention went back to the plate of food and he began to demolish his plate while Brienne had barely even started on hers.

“I was going to tell you that I wasn’t going to play  _ any more _ games with you. Either we were doing this or we weren’t but no more longing looks or flirting but you beat me to the punch. And you kissed me.”

“I did do that, didn’t I?” she smiled to herself. “Was I really that much work?”

“Oh, you are  _ work _ . I don’t think I’ve ever been through so much with a woman before but damn if it ain’t worth it. Do we have more?” His plate was empty already.

Brienne jerked her head back to the counter and kitchen stove.

“Jon is going to kill me,” he didn’t seem to be too upset about this announcement. He was taking his time piling more food onto his plate. 

“I left him there last night to close up everything but when I found out you had gone to my apartment, I had to try and beat you there. Of course, I didn’t.” He swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “Then I said fuck it and decided to just come to your apartment. I was willing to wait outside all night but you were already here.”

He narrowed his eyes at her and stopped eating.

“And you were crying. Why  _ were _ you crying?”

“It’s ridiculous,” Brienne shook her head.

It was ridiculous. She cried like someone had died, puffy eyes, and stomach hurting. It was a mess. She was so grateful by the time he arrived she had finished with the worst of it.

The chair he was sitting in made a loud, scraping noise against the floor and he scooted it around the table to be closer to her. 

“Well now you gotta tell me,” Tormund propped his chin in his hand and gazed at her.

“I thought I’d lost you. And when I was faced with the realization of that, it really hurt. I felt physically ill. And I had never felt that way about anyone before. You came into my life and you just shook everything up and I liked it. I liked you. God, I didn’t realize how much I missed you until I didn’t have you anymore.” 

She was getting emotional now at the very thought of it. Brienne brought a hand up to her mouth and let out a small sob. Crying the morning after sex was not how Brienne imagined this. She didn’t think she would get so upset about it. 

“Hey, but I’m here now,” Tormund said soothingly. He moved in even closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m here and I’m always going to be here. I’m never going to leave you. You’ll have to kill me to get rid of me.”

For some reason, Brienne cried harder and Tormund turned completely in his chair and wrapped both his arms tightly around her. 

It took some time for her to calm down but when she did, Tormund wiped away her tears with his thumbs until her cheeks were dry. Cupping the side of her face, he leaned in and kissed her directly in the middle of her forehead. She pulled back and looked at him.

“I don’t know what came over me.”

“My girl’s a cry baby,” Tormund teased.

“I am  _ not _ ,” she said through a tearful laugh.

He gave her another kiss, this time on the lips and then rested his forehead against her.

“When I told you that I loved you and Gabriel, I meant every word. I’m going to be here for the both of you. So if you’re crying, I hope it’s going to be happy tears from now on.”

Brienne sniffed and kissed him again.

“Happy tears, yes?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

“Now, let’s finish breakfast and maybe go take a shower together.”

Brienne leaned back and raised her eyebrows, “How can you still be ready when we’ve spent all night?” 

“The Red Bear always stays ready.” He tossed her a wink and flexed his muscles.

“That’s definitely my cue to get up now.” He protested at this and made a grab for her. “Nope!” She dodged his grasp with super blithe moves, getting up from the table and cleaning it off.

As the day continued, Tormund had no choice but to eventually leave Brienne. He and Jon had a lot of work to do and since he abandoned his friend to spend most of the day and night with Brienne, he had double the work to do. He made no promises that he wouldn’t be back at her place late but she didn’t mind at all. She knew confidently that she and Tormund would have plenty time together.

When evening arrived and the sun was setting, Jaime came knocking at her door with Gabriel in his arms, red faced and crying.

“I think he could tell we were getting close to you.”

Though Gabriel was crying at the top of his lungs, Jaime looked cool and handsome as always. His hair was perfectly coiffed and not one strand was out of place. He had dressed up Gabriel to look like a miniature version of him. The sight of it made Brienne chuckle. She reached for him but when Jaime tried to hand her the bag and she shook her head.

“No, you keep the bag. Next weekend he’ll be with you.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get him next weekend. It’s not looking too good right now. I’ll be spending some hours with a client.”

Had the baby not been crying she would have pushed to know why but it just wasn’t the time so she simply nodded her head.

“That’s fine. Just let me know your weekend plans.”

Gabriel’s cries calmed when he realized he was in Brienne’s arms and he laid his head on her shoulder.

“Traitor,” Jaime smiled at his son then directed it to Brienne. “I’ll see you both later.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek to say goodbye.

“You look good,” he pointed at her and turned to leave. 

She watched him walk off for a moment, then closed the door and pulled Gabriel back to get a good look at him. He was a terrible actor. The door wasn’t even entirely closed and he was giggling at her.

“You are a traitor,” Brienne said lovingly and kissed the top of his head. Those blond curls were growing at an alarmingly fast rate. Each day he continued to look like the exact replica of his father.

She appreciated the quiet but life without Gabriel was just no fun. Brienne was happy to have him back in the house, noisily clapping and making baby noises and coos while she cleaned up around the house. 

When he was fed and bathed by the end of the day, she laid him down for bed. It was well into the night and Brienne was doing that thing she always did after putting Gabriel down for sleep. She gently rubbed her hand over his back as he slept peacefully, little hands curled into tight, chubby fists. 

The next big step was attempting to get him off the pacifier, which she was dreading even now as she watched him suck away while asleep. A knock on the door pulled her from the reverie of watching her son and wondering what he could be dreaming about. 

“Time for cuddles?” Tormund stood at the door when she pulled it open and Brienne could only shake her head and laugh.

“You are truly too much.”

He walked over and scooped her up with one arm and peppered kisses all over her face.

“Is my favorite little guy back home?”

“He is but he’s sleeping!” Brienne warned him when he pushed her aside to walk down the hall and go into Gabriel’s bedroom.

“Man, I really missed seeing this little guy every day,” Tormund looked over his shoulder at her and smiled.

Brienne leaned against the doorframe watching him with a satisfied expression on her face. Nothing would be greater than this. She was sure of it.


	15. Tarth vs. Giantsbane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you guys for the reviews and the love! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Tormund’s home away from the brewery had become Brienne’s apartment. And boy, did he make it his home. This was the third time this week she was tripping over his large boots, nearly crashing to her death. It was domestication at its finest. While Brienne was getting used to a fully grown man sharing some space with her and her son, she did enjoy the perks of his company, too. He was a great cook, he was good at catching pests faster than her when they snuck into the apartment, when Gabriel was particularly being a nuisance he stepped in and did wonderfully, and his body was always warm and ready for cuddles.

But something  _ had _ to be done about him laying things down and not picking them up.

“Tormund, I love you but I swear to god if I die because of your boots I will come back as a ghost and haunt you. And it will not be fun and it will not be pretty.”

“Sorry! I’ll do better,” he said in a genuinely apologetic voice but Brienne knew he’d be forgetting within a week’s time.

He sat on the floor with Gabriel, giving his little behind a nudge as a way to motivate him to crawl across the living room floor.

“Also,” she walked over to the couch and handed him the throw blanket with stoniest of expressions. “I don’t want him crawling on this floor with nothing underneath him.”

“Brienne, he’ll be fine!” Tormund laughed.

When she didn’t join in with him though, he took the blanket and lifted up Gabriel with one arm. The baby squealed with delight and took this as a stolen moment to climb on top of his head. Brienne couldn’t help but laugh even if she was annoyed at him and his boots right now. He smoothed out the blanket over the floor and bounced up and down while Gabriel was still perched atop his head.

“Your mama wants to make sure those precious knees don’t get dirty but your mama spent most of her childhood falling in mud. What are the odds?”

Brienne rolled her eyes.

“Leave your boots by the door, too,” she grabbed his shirt and tossed at him when he put Gabriel back on the floor. 

The shirt landed on Tormund’s head perfectly and he released an ‘oof’ before he pulled it off. He propped one of those long arms on the couch and looked over his shoulder up at her with the sincerest of expressions.

“Are you just going to walk around the apartment cleaning up behind me?”

“No, I am  _ not _ ,” she said sternly. “But Jaime is coming over to pick up Gabriel and I want it to look presentable. And do not make that face.”

In the two months they had been dating, Jaime and Tormund only crossed paths twice. Neither of them seemed to be fond of the other. Though both men never said anything, which she was sure had to be because of their mutual affiliation with her, she could tell in the expressions they gave one other. 

Jaime may or may not have been the instigator of this. He caught sight of Tormund’s tattoos, beard, and goofy grin and decided immediately that he didn’t like him.

“Doesn’t seem like your type,” was all he said when Brienne escorted him to the door with Gabriel on her hip.

But now, of course, they had no choice but to be cordial with each other.

“Does Jaime ever schedule these visits? He seems irregular.”

Brienne clenched her jaw and shoved his boots next to the door with a hard push of her foot. Tormund had mentioned this once before and she had to remind him that Jaime had a very busy schedule. The divorce was taking a toll on him and he was putting in extra work for his attorney  _ and _ Cersei’s attorney fees. Not only that, they were both afraid that if Cersei found out he was sleeping with Brienne behind her back she would do something spiteful in regards to Gabriel. There was a lot going on and Brienne had this conversation with Tormund already. She wasn’t going into this again. When she didn’t reply to him, he quietly dropped it and focused his attention back on Gabriel.

“Gabe! Yer scoot- _ in _ ! Yer scoot- _ in _ !”

He started up a mantra that seemed to cheer the baby on. Gabriel began to rock back and forth on all fours, seemingly dancing along to Tormund’s chant. Brienne threw her head back with laughter. He’d be walking before he crawled, she was pretty sure of that.

Jaime’s knocking on the door stopped Tormund’s chant. Brienne looked to the door and she could feel the irritation radiating off Tormund. She pulled the door open and stepped aside so Jaime could walk in.

“Let me get Gabe and I’ll be right back.”

She walked over to Tormund and lifted the baby up.

“Should he be crawling on the floor? It is a bit chilly out.”

“He’s fine,” Brienne handed him over to Jaime, “I was just telling Tormund to put a blanket down.”

They both laughed and Tormund got up from the floor and began to pick up all the toys he and Gabriel were playing with.

“What time are you bringing him back?”

“Uh, is it okay if I keep him for the night? I know it’s last minute and all but my evening is free.”

“And what about tomorrow morning?”

“I’ll bring him back really early.”

Brienne nodded. 

“Do you need an overnight bag?”

“No, I think I’m good.” 

“Tormund, can you get me some pants for-” she smiled when he walked over with a pair of jeans for Gabriel. 

She and Jaime got him quickly dressed and after he had his coat and hat on, they were gone. Brienne closed the door and with a pleased sigh, turned around to face Tormund.

“Last minute but we’ve got the house to ourselves.”

He was standing with his arms folded and he did not look happy with her.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?” Brienne frowned, genuinely confused.

“Tell him that you were just telling me to put a blanket down?”

It took a while for her to realize what he was talking about. Had she or had she not told him that it wasn’t a wise idea to let Gabriel crawl around without a blanket? Both she and Jaime quietly agreed on this.

“I  _ did _ tell you to put the blanket down. I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”

Realization slowly crept in and Brienne sighed.

“I didn’t realize that was something to be mad about.”

When Tormund put a hand on his hip and used the other as his prop to prove his point, Brienne knew that an argument was brewing in that stormy mind of his.

“But why does he need to know that you and I have a disagreement? You know he doesn’t like me. Why would you tell him that? Never _ mind _ the fact that he comes and goes as he pleases.” 

“Tormund, please.”

“Oh, so you’d be perfectly okay with me going to Tracey and us having a conversation about how we think it’s silly for you to have a blanket on the floor while Gabriel crawls around?”

Tracey had become an afterthought once Brienne and Tormund started dating. Why bring her up when she didn’t matter?

“Why would she even need to be a part of this argument? She wasn’t even your girlfriend.”

“Brienne, this is a comparison. What if it was you and me and the tables were turned.”

“First of all, Tracey is not Gabriel’s mother.”

Tormund blinked at those words and Brienne immediately knew she had said something wrong.

“Are you saying that I’m not Gabriel’s father?”

“No!” She frowned and walked over to him. He was getting angrier by the second and it seemed like she was digging a hole she had no intention doing. Brienne took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Tormund, I never said that. I don’t even think - listen, I don’t want to fight with you over something like that. I don’t think of you as anything else but a father to Gabriel.”

She searched his eyes to find the response. They softened when he looked in hers.

“I don’t care if we disagree on dinner, I don’t need him to know that. I’m sure he doesn’t like me. He’s probably just looking for this to fall apart.”

“That is not true.” She wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s just going to take an adjustment is all. You have to understand that Jaime is-”

“Used to having his way,” Tormund finished.

Brienne pondered this thought. She knew he was right but she also knew there was more to it. When Jaime was attentive to Gabriel he was the best father in the world but sometimes it was almost like pulling teeth to get him on a proper visiting schedule.

She decided that she would sit him down and they would have a talk about it. Tormund was right, they did need to have a pattern of consistency for Gabriel.

“Know that I love you,” she finally said and kissed him on the tip of his nose.

“That means I’m right,” Tormund replied and gave her a playful tap on the behind.

“I love you,” she stated again.

He looked off and shook his head. Instead of being upset or even just a little difficult, he pulled her close to him and gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek.

“Well if we’ve got the night with no baby we should make the best of it. Let’s eat and watch a movie in peace!”

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Arya handled Brienne’s confession about Jaime Lannister being the father of Gabriel terribly. She seemed absolutely gutted at the news and eyed Brienne shiftily during the entire Stark family dinner. Couple that with him not being here for today, and she was feeling ultimately betrayed. It was no surprise to Brienne that when they decided to play soccer in the evening that she chose the opposing team: Tormund’s.

“So that’s how it’s going to be,” Brienne was pulling on her sneakers as Arya walked over and stood next to Tormund.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been betrayed so boldly before in my life,” she meant that for both Arya and Tormund.

“That’s alright, sis, I’ve got your back.” Jon clapped Brienne on the back and she nodded her head. 

Tormund rolled up his sleeves and Brienne eyed the muscles flexing in his arms. He puckered his lips to give her a kiss and Brienne walked off with a look of disgust, amused at how arrogant he was! As she walked away, he ran behind her and wrapped an arm around the small of her waist. She felt his lips and warm breath on her ear before he even spoke.

“Winner gets a massage.”

When he pulled away to join Arya and the others, Brienne turned around and smirked. She hoped he was ready to put those hands to use tonight. This game consisted of Jon, Brienne, and Bran against Arya, Tormund, and Rickon. Robb and Sansa were their goalies this time, much to everyone’s surprise. 

“Are you sure you want  _ her _ as a goalie?” Arya pointed to Sansa, who was down at the pitch taking her job very seriously.

“You’ll never get your ball near her,” Brienne said confidently. She and Arya both pulled their hair back into ponytails. “And don’t underestimate Sansa. She’s faster and stronger than you think.”

What Arya didn’t know was in the past, Brienne had all but forced Sansa to practice with her when she needed a partner. Sansa could never block  _ Brienne _ ’s balls but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take on Arya or Tormund. And she just knew that Tormund would underestimate Sansa. People often underestimated Sansa because she liked pretty things. People were silly.

She nodded at Sansa, who nodded back. 

Once the game started, Brienne had to show Tormund and Arya that she hadn’t forgotten her own athletic skills. It was unsurprising that Tormund and Arya ignored Bran and put all their focus on blocking Brienne and Jon. She was tall for her gender but that didn’t stop her from effortlessly running around the Stark backyard, dodging between Arya and Tormund with an ease that surprised Tormund. Jon snickered as he ran past Tormund, who was standing there with a shocked expression.

She really did think that age and motherhood would slow her down but she was pleased to discover how wrong she was. She was grateful for the evenings she spent with Sansa and Margaery at the gym now. It was also good to note that jogging every other day helped keep her stamina up when the others seemed like they were going to pass out.

Tormund stood there dumbfounded when she ran up to him and kicked the ball between his legs and moved around. Arya was her biggest competition, because of her size it brought on a swiftness that not even Brienne, who considered a professional athletic career in her past, could keep up with. Thankfully, she had Jon on her side. He could track Arya around the field whenever Bran would have the ball or Brienne was having to ward off Tormund. 

And wow, did she. He committed so many flagrant fouls, touching her when he could get a chance or trash talking her. But nothing was stopping her from winning this game.

Though Sansa missed a few of the goals, there were some she did block and Brienne loudly cheered her on, pumping a fist.

When the game started, Tormund was very vocal about how he would enjoy his massages and even bragged about how he was going to use all of Brienne’s bubble bath but towards the end of the game he had gone pretty quiet. Still, Brienne did not push or tease him. Brienne never trash talked. The proof of her success was in the results of her winning.

As they were finishing up, Arya slipped past Brienne and Bran easily. She kicked the ball so hard that Sansa just ran off to the side to dodge being hit by it. 

“I’m not ruining my nails because you have a point to prove!” Sansa shouted angrily at Arya.

“Be gentle on the lass!” Tormund had his hands on his knees, hunched over panting. “We’re just playing for fun.” 

Sansa made a face at Tormund while Jon and Bran laughed.

As Brienne walked by him, panting herself, he gave her a lustful once over that would have made her blush at any other time. This time however, she just shot him a glare and that only seemed to drive him even more crazy. When she looked to the right, she saw the knowing expression of Catelyn.

“This is the last go,” Brienne pointed to everyone on the field. “I’m not as young as I used to be,” she joked.

“You move good for an old lady,” Arya teased.

Brienne nodded her head at the smaller girl and and cracked her knuckles. Bran started the kick off and they were on him immediately. It took some time but Bran and Brienne had managed to work out a silent communication pattern and so, when he gave her the head nod she knew to run in close to him as he kicked the ball and she took it over effortlessly. 

She took off, kicking the ball as she ran towards Robb. He looked fearful.

And he should. 

She smiled devilishly at him as she heard Arya scream at Tormund, “STOP HER!  _ MURDER HER _ !”

Brienne couldn’t help but laugh loudly as she felt Tormund’s presence closing in on her. Then he did the craziest thing ever. He began to run faster until he was standing facing her and she was still running towards Robb, now with Tormund blocking her path.

“What are you  _ doing _ ?!”

Brienne attempted to dodge him but he moved swiftly to the right as she moved to the left and held his arms out. She was unable to slow down fast enough and went crashing into him. Before she did something that would hurt herself, she turned slightly to the right and her shoulder hit him squarely in the chest.

He fell back and she collided with him, landing on top of him.

Brienne stared down at him in disbelief. He cheated. He had actually  _ cheated _ ! And for no reason at all because Jon’s longer legs outran Arya’s and he picked up where Brienne fell short and kicked the ball so fast and hard that Robb didn’t stand a chance. He landed on the grass in a huff and was immediately the focus of Arya’s insults.

“Arya Stark, your  _ language _ !” Catelyn scolded her.

Brienne looked down at Tormund and tried to wrestle out of his grasp when his arm wrapped around her waist.

“You’re a dirty cheater!” She protested and slapped at his chest.

He held on to her tightly and being much stronger than her, flipped her over until she was on her back and he hovered over her. She kept hitting at his chest until he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The slapping ceased and she could hear the groans and moans and sounds of fake disgust around them but she did not care. 

“I’m going to seriously throw up,” Arya mumbled while Jon gave a supportive whoop.

Apparently locking lips with her partner while her family watched on was another thing Brienne found herself comfortable with.

After they dropped Sansa and Jon off, Brienne and Tormund headed back to his apartment. 

His tub was bigger than hers, which she discovered on those few weekends that Gabriel was in Jaime’s care. She dropped her bag to the ground, a new soreness in her joints that she hadn’t experienced in her thirty plus years of being alive.

“I’m running a bath for us.”

“Oh no, you cheater.” She pulled her shoes off and glared at him, “You’re running a bath for  _ me _ .”

“Fair enough,” he laughed.

A bath and massage were the least he could do, considering he was a cheater.

Brienne sat in the tub, smiling as Tormund leaned over the side, giving her a shoulder massage. She had no complaints. His hands paid careful attention to the more tense areas of her shoulders and back.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a massage  _ in _ a tub before.”

“Well I tell you what, if you can make that amazing breakfast you always make on Saturday for me then I will give you a massage every Sunday night. Of course, this is not including the fact that Gabriel will be spending some of these weekends with us.”

If he was going to bring up Jaime again, she didn’t want to hear it.

“And this is a Gabe-free weekend. We have not properly taken advantage of it.” 

He kissed the top of her head and continued massaging her shoulders in silence. 

“I can’t believe you cheated like that,” her tone was indignant even though this happened over two hours ago.

“You know I play dirty,” he laughed. 

“You do,” she mumbled.

After his massage finished, he kissed her again and got up from his spot by the tub.

“I’ll be back,” he headed out of the bathroom.

Two seconds later he came back, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t. I can’t.”

Brienne frowned up at him and then she started to laugh. He kicked his sneakers off, much to her shock and horror of and stepped inside the tub.

“Did you really think I was gonna’ walk away from you lying naked in a tub? You’re kidding.  _ I’m _ kidding.”

She let out a sound of surprise when he knelt down, placing an arm on each side and leaned over to kiss her.

“You’re ridiculous, do you know that?” 

“I sure am,” he deepened the kiss. 

And just as he was sinking down in the tub, her phone buzzed loudly on the toilet. He pulled back and reached over to grab it. Making a face, he handed it to her and she saw that it was Jaime.

Their time alone was cut short when Jaime called to tell Brienne that he needed to bring Gabriel back a little sooner than usual. Later that night when she and Tormund were lying side by side in bed while Gabriel slept peacefully in his room, Tormund spoke up and made it clear again.

“It’s not fair that he does this. We need to fix this schedule, Brienne. We’re not on his time.”

She stayed quiet but she knew that Tormund was right.


	16. The Battle of the Egos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in paradise! Jaime and Tormund finally meet! I really wanted them to initially get along but that just didn't seem realistic, lol. Thank you for all the reviews and kudos!

Between parenthood and full time work, Tormund decided it was time that Brienne learned how to drive. On the weekends, which was the only time they could get some time to themselves, the duo began the lessons in Tormund’s SUVs. He was patient with her, even if she gave him hell the first couple of weeks.

It took many arguments and very many make-ups until Brienne was finally sitting behind the back of Tormund’s car, driving smoothly. For his lessons, she paid him in kisses.

This was the third week of their session, while Sansa had Gabriel in her care. She told Brienne that she and Pod would be taking the baby to the park. Sansa and Podrick Payne. She still couldn’t believe those two were dating, but then again she was still adjusting to Tormund Giantsbane occupying her home eighty percent of the time.

Considering that her time with Sansa was split in half when she had the baby, doing things with Tormund was split double. Between work, Gabriel, and attempting to meet Jaime’s insane schedule learning how to drive in a parking lot was a date. 

She wheeled the car into the parking spot and Tormund nodded his head at her proudly.

“You’ve improved so much.”

Brienne smiled, pleased with herself. Tormund leaned over grabbed the steering wheel with a serious expression.

“Now, we’re going to learn to parallel park.”

She instantly frowned.

“Parallel park? I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

“You’re as ready as you’ll ever be. Plus, it’s time. Gabriel’s gonna be graduating from college before you learn. You’ve been putting it off and putting off.” He laughed at his little joke. “You’ve been putting this off for two weeks now. It’s time, my dear.”

With a sigh, she nodded her head.

“Alright, let’s get on it.”

Two hours of some driving but mostly kissing and heavy petting in his vehicle, Brienne and Tormund were walking up to the townhome Sansa occupied and she froze when she realized almost suddenly that her cell phone was not with her. She patted herself down and began to frantically look around, not caring that it was ridiculous to look for a missing phone on pavement.

“Are you okay? What are you doing?” Tormund laughed.

“My phone. I can’t find my phone.”

“Okay, well let me try calling it.”

She was only a little nervous at first but when he called her and there was no sound or buzz, she really started to panic. Anything could have happened while Sansa was out with Gabriel. What if they got into wreck or Gabriel got really sick or maybe they discovered he was allergic to something? Oh  _ god _ , her stomach was unsettled just thinking about it.

“Hey,” Tormund placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her so she would stop fidgeting and looked her in her eyes, “Everything is fine. We’ll go back to the car and find your phone. Gabriel is fine.”

His words were assuring and eased her nerves. Tormund would find it and then she’d get a call from Sansa asking where the hell she was. Just as they headed down the walkway back to his SUV, Sansa’s car pulled up and Jaime’s next to her. He was showing off, she could see, pulling up in his convertible. Gabriel was in his car though because he had the top pulled up.

“What the hell’s he doing here?” Tormund didn’t even bother hiding his irritation.

“Tormund, don’t.”

He shot her a look but kept quiet.

Brienne’s nerves were on edge. When Jaime climbed out of the car, she could see Gabriel in the carseat in the back. He was asleep. Sansa beat him to Brienne and her expression was immediately apologetic.

“Brienne, I tried to call you but your phone kept going to voicemail.”

Tormund and Jaime passed each other as he went to his own car to search for Brienne’s phone.

“What is wrong?” Immediately, she felt herself getting emotional.

“Nothing’s wrong!” Sansa smiled and reached up to wipe the tear that appeared in her eye. 

“Gabriel was running a fever and he was getting very fussy. His stomach didn’t agree with the food you packed for him and he puked all over Pod, who is now at his apartment getting a change of clothes.” She paused and laughed nervously, “I panicked because I didn’t know if I should just wait for you or take him to the emergency room, so I called Jaime…”

Jaime strolled up to Brienne with the diaper bag and a sleeping Gabriel, head resting on his shoulder.

“Where exactly was your phone?” He asked calmly.

“FOUND IT!” Tormund called from the car, shaking Brienne’s phone in his hand.

They all looked at him then turned back to Brienne, who was relieved that her phone was in his car but not happy with the fact that she had so carelessly discarded it. She wouldn’t let that happen again.

“I need to give you Tormund’s phone number, too. I should have and I don’t know why I didn’t.” 

She was shaking her head at her own careless behavior.

“He’s fine,” Jaime smiled. “And besides, I’m his father so it would make sense for Sansa to have my number and yours. Why would she need to call Tormund?”

“Why would she need to call Tormund for what?” He was coming at the tail end of the conversation. This was not the conversation Brienne wanted to have or hear.

“It’s nothing,” Brienne interjected before Jaime could say anything.

“No, it was clearly something so what was it?” 

Tormund didn’t even bother looking at Brienne. His eyes were directly on Jaime, piercing and unyielding. She knew that these two had been waiting to have a moment to argue and they were going to use Gabriel as the catalyst for it. She could not allow that to happen.

Jaime seemed more than pleased to direct his statement to Tormund.

“I said, why on earth would Sansa need your phone number when she has his mother and father’s phone numbers already?”

Sansa and Brienne looked at each other, both annoyed at this battle of egos.

“Let me lay Gabriel down.” 

Sansa walked over to Jaime and took Gabriel from his arms. He stirred for only a moment and then settled back down, nestling his head in the crook of Sansa’s neck. Brienne thanked her again and watched as her friend walked away with the sleeping baby..

“We’re not going to do this here. Not outside,” Brienne shook her head.

“Oh, we’re doing this right now because I’ve got some things to say and I’m sick of being quiet.”

Brienne sighed and Jaime only smiled.

“Sansa needs my phone number because Brienne is my partner. Should something happen to Gabriel, she will notify  _ all _ of us. We are all responsible for Gabriel.”

Jaime looked at Tormund for a moment then asked, “Is that all?”

Tormund narrowed his eyes and laughed.

“You know what? That isn’t all.”

Brienne was looking at Tormund but she could feel Jaime’s eyes flicker between her and Tormund. He was expecting her to say something, she could tell but Brienne half agreed with him and he had been wanting to get this off his chest for months now.

“I don’t like that you think you can pick Gabriel up whenever you feel like. You just think that everyone’s lives revolve around yours. That isn’t how it works. Gabriel needs stability and you aren’t exactly helping.”

She definitely agreed with Tormund about that. Jaime’s inconsistency with picking Gabriel up messed with everyone’s schedules, especially hers.

“Who says that I am not stable? I am here when I can be here!” Brienne could see that Tormund had touched a nerve. Jaime turned to her, his cheeks had a faint pink tint now, “Do you agree with him?”

“Jaime,” Brienne began but stopped when Jaime laughed loudly and looked around. Being here when he could be here wasn’t good enough. Even Brienne knew that.

“So now I’m a terrible father.”

“ _ You _ said that,” Tormund replied with a quiet anger that stirred Brienne, sending a chill over her lower spine.

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Brienne interjected. “Thank you for answering your phone and coming to Gabriel’s aid when we needed it.”

She turned to look at Tormund and he looked past her, his attention on Jaime.

“No problem,” Jaime smiled and shook his head.

Then he adjusted the sleeves of his shirt, “Sansa did exactly what she was supposed to.”

Brienne really could have slapped the both of them. This was just getting downright childish. She looked over her shoulder at Jaime as Tormund moved in closer and put a hand to his chest.

“What’s that?” Tormund asked softly.

“What’s _ what _ ?” Jaime asked, perking his eyebrows.

“What the hell did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything that needs to be said. And honestly, you seem to be very upset about me being Gabriel’s father. Calm down.” 

Jaime was trying his best to not look bothered but Brienne knew he was only teasing Tormund because  _ he _ didn’t like the relationship between them. Sure, Tormund had no problem showing his frustrations but Jaime was the complete opposite. The more he attempted to show that he didn’t care, the more Brienne knew it was killing him.

“I said that’s enough,” Brienne issued her last warning.

“It’s fine that you don’t like me because guess what, the feeling is fucking mutual. But I’m not going anywhere and it would do you a whole hell of a lot better to just accept that. You had your chance, my friend. And you fucked it up. Not me. You. Now you’re angry because people are tired of bending to your will. You gave the woman Gabriel and literally  _ nothing _ else. Don’t take it out on me.” 

Her mouth parted and she looked at Tormund slightly horrified. She almost thought Jaime would make a charge for the man but he didn’t. He simply looked at the other man and with a nod of his head, he quietly made his exit. 

“Do you think that was necessary?” Brienne’s brows furrowed as she turned back to Tormund.

“Goddamnit, Brienne, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lost my temper but he fucking pushes it. Don’t you see it?”

Brienne frowned and turned to head into the house without bothering to say anything to him.

Gabriel wasn’t asleep when Brienne gathered up his items and they headed back to her apartment. It was amazing he didn’t fall asleep on the way home. He babbled in the back while Brienne and Tormund drove in silence. She was thankful for him being awake because it kept them from arguing. 

The last thing he said before they climbed into the car was that Brienne should have spoken up more. And what was she going to say? She agreed and disagreed with the both of them. They were constantly tugging at her emotionally, wanting her to side with them. Jaime was the father and Tormund was the boyfriend. They were asking too much from her. They needed to meet at a common ground eventually. Why should it be her responsibility to make them do that?

He pulled up to the apartment and jerked into park. She looked down at his hand then slowly looked to him.

“I’m going to work tonight and I think I’ll get there early.”

Brienne stared at him for a moment but he didn’t bother looking at her in return. With a huff, she climbed out of the passenger seat and grabbed Gabriel from the car seat and the diaper bag. 

“What time will you be getting off?”

“I don’t know.” He continued to look ahead and Brienne licked her lips, biting down on her tongue. So now he was genuinely angry with her.

“Why don’t you two just kill each other and leave me with the insurance money?” Brienne stood next to the car now, Gabriel on her hip, frustrated. Tormund frowned and finally turned to look at her.

Oh, now she had his attention.

“I’ll see you later.” She turned to leave without looking back.

Egos aside, she really thought that Tormund overstepped his boundaries. He shouldn’t have said the things he said. However, Jaime was not making Gabriel a priority and his choices had a rippling effect on all of them. 

Needless to say, both Jaime and Tormund were annoying her and she was better off without both of their attitudes right now.

Her phone buzzed with Jaime calling but she ignored it. A minute later he sent her a text apologizing and she ignored that, too.

Gabriel was splashing around in the tub, making loud noises. It was amazing how fast time had passed, he would be turning one soon. Watching him grow before her eyes still amazed her.

The group of mothers she met during Lamaze class had done bi monthly emails but the only person she truly stayed in contact with was Missandei. They both joked about how the other mothers would look down on them if they knew that they did not have birthday plans for their children. And even worse, they did not care about it either.

What she really wondered was if Gabriel would be walking by his first birthday. 

“I can’t believe you’re turning one so soon!” She playfully splashed water at him and he squealed loudly, splashing it back.

“You know,” she began to bathe him, “your two dads are being downright idiotic right now. One dad is overstepping his boundaries and the other, well…” she sighed and lathered shampoo into his blonde curls.

She was thankful that he had curls in his hair like her but it was only a matter of time before Jaime’s genetics would snatch that away, too. He looked up at her with his round blue eyes, the one thing that was fully hers, and responded to her ranting about Jaime and Tormund with a gurgle.

“Exactly. They should just listen to me.”

After the bath, she scooped him out of the tub and dried him off. Her phone buzzed again but thankfully, this time, it was Sansa.

“Are you okay now?”

Brienne sighed, “You know what, I don’t want to talk about them. They do not deserve my attention. What are you doing later on this evening?”

Sleepy as ever but totally stubborn about it, Gabriel fussed and whined his way through the night. She didn’t even bother cooking dinner and honestly, why should she if he didn’t know when he was coming back home? She would let him fix his own dinner.

Between changing into a decent pair of clothes and trying to get Gabriel down for bed, she hardly noticed when Tormund came in. Not even bothering to announce that he was in the apartment, she could hear him shuffling around in the living room. Gabriel gave a tired whine and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. Brienne sighed as he reached for her and she fought hard not to pick him up. 

Tormund was avoiding her, but she would take care of that problem.

Giving in, she lifted him from the crib and his head immediately went to rest on her shoulder. When she walked into the living room she saw Tormund sitting there with his boots by the couch. If she had calmed down in the hours since she had last seen him, those boots only brought it back. How many times was she going to have to tell him about those  _ fucking _ boots?

“Gabriel’s having trouble sleeping tonight. I suspect he’s having the tummy ache. I’ve given him medicine but he’s fighting sleep. He should probably be asleep soon, though. Maybe.”

Brienne shrugged and smiled at his bewildered expression. She sat the baby in Tormund’s lap. All she had done was put on some berry lipstick

“And where are you going?” His tone commanding and Brienne did  _ not _ like it.

“Out with Sansa,” she said casually.

“And when will you back?”

Gabriel was reaching for Brienne and his whines were turning into cries. Brienne looked at the baby then looked to Tormund.

“I don’t know,” she said it in the same agitated tone he had used earlier and shut the door behind her.


	17. Cover You With Velvet Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, the chapter title is from Madonna's _Dress You Up In My Love_ , one of my favorite songs of hers. Making up is fun! Am I right?! Thank you for the reviews, kudos, and new friends! I'll probably be writing about Brienne + Tormund until I'm old and gray, haha. It was a terrible day today so writing these two and re-writing this chapter was just absolutely therapeutic. Hope you enjoy!

Brienne almost felt a guilty leaving Gabriel behind with Tormund.

But only a little. She had been with the fussy baby all day and Tormund was very keen on reminding _everyone_ that he was Gabriel’s father more than anyone else, especially Jaime, so that’s what a parent did. They dealt with the good, the bad, and the extremely fussy.

“Your mind is a million miles away,” Sansa said loudly, trying to beat the bass that filled their eardrums in the bar.

Their first choice had been to hit up Jon and Tormund’s brewery. Perhaps they could charm a few free bars out of Jon but Brienne reminded Sansa that they were his sisters and he’d honestly probably charge them more. They opted for a bar they used to go to before Brienne became pregnant with Gabriel instead. It was still the same crowd of people she remembered, not that much time had passed anyway. A few “already drunk” patrons were standing on the very small dance floor, dancing horribly to a song Brienne had never heard before in her life.

“Whose song _is_ this?”

“Kanye West,” Sansa motioned to all the drunken dancers, “They’re dancing to Kanye West.”

“Well, they’re dancing poorly,” Brienne thanked the bartender for she and Sansa’s beers.

They were sitting at the bar, mesmerized by the terrible coordination.

“So, what’d Tormund do when I left?” Sansa took a sip of her beer, eyeing Brienne now.

“Hmm?” Brienne asked absently, still watching the dancers - if they could really be called that.

“What’d Tormund do? It’s not often you two get time alone these days and you’re here having beers with me so what did he do?”

Brienne sighed and looked at her own bottle of beer.

“I didn’t like the way he spoke to Jaime.”

There was a relief she felt saying it aloud. She was struggling with admitting that the entire day. True, Jaime was awful with consistency and order but they were going to work on that. They were going to work on a lot of things but Tormund and his temper. His damn inability to just ...stay silent.

“But I don’t like the way Jaime acts either,” she added then went silent again.

Despite Brienne telling Jaime long before she and Tormund decided to become romantically invested in each other, he was still quite smug about things. She knew that the divorce was taking a toll on him and most days, he was too emotionally drained to even bother scheduling a date to get Gabriel. But when he decided that yes, he would be present and active in their son’s life he hadn’t been giving everything that he should.

“I think you should let them battle it out in a cage covered in nothing but baby oil. Let’s call it Battle of the Beefcakes,” Sansa held her arms out as if she was trying to envision it.

The image of Tormund, hairy beyond belief in baby oil wrestling the always clean shaven Jaime in a cage match to the death made her laugh louder than she could ever imagine.

“You’re imagining it, aren’t you?” Sansa gently nudged Brienne and they were now both laughing loudly together.

She jumped off the bar stool and held out a hand for Brienne to take it. At first, she denied the request but never in all her living had she been able to deny dancing to a good pop beat. With Madonna playing, Brienne couldn’t pass that up. The music would always win over everything else. She took Sansa’s hand and the two women danced their way over to the cramped space, joining the drunken patrons.

Brienne danced until her feet ache and she had nothing else left in her.

“I’m so tired, Brienne. And we both have work tomorrow!” Sansa looked up at her with a pained expression.

Brienne shook her head and took Sansa’s hands in hers, spinning around in a circle. If Sansa had her figured out, she never said anything. Brienne was sure that Tormund an argument would be awaiting her when she got home. Maybe… maybe she didn’t want to deal with that. _Maybe_ she just wanted to dance to all this synthesized pop music until her feet couldn’t work any longer.

So Sansa didn’t complain, never said a word. And when the two women left the bar it was nearly two in the morning.

“I’m sure after you talk with Tormund, this will blow over and you two will be fine.”

Either way, Brienne dreaded it and she wasn’t ready.

Feeling guilty for spending the majority of the night talking about her own problems, she begged Sansa to give her updates on Podrick. Sansa said she wasn’t updating Brienne on anything until they had sex. She was laughing when she left her friend’s car but sobered up immediately when she reached the front door.

It was so selfish of her to leave him alone with Gabriel and spend the night out with Sansa. Hadn’t they both needed a break? Guilt was racking at her now that she reached the front door to her apartment - _their_ apartment and with a sigh, she pushed the door open.

At 1:45 in the morning Brienne slowly pushed the front door open after unlocking it, immediately swallowed in the darkness of her apartment. So Gabriel had finally gone to sleep after probably giving Tormund a rough night. Tormund was probably asleep, too. She pulled her shoes off and bumped against his boots by the door. Finally, someone was listening to her. She placed her shoes next to his and stood up smoothing her hand over her shirt.

She nearly died when the lamp from the side table came on and Tormund was lying on the couch, looking up at her. Brienne collapsed against the door and put her hand to her chest.

“You nearly scared the life out of me. What are you doing in the living room in the dark?”

Tormund sat up and folded his hands, letting them hang over the side of the couch between his long legs.

“Gabe is sleeping in the bed. Wouldn’t sleep in his own without screaming his head off.”

“I can move him,” she said softly.

She pushed herself up from the door and headed into the hallway to her - _their_ bedroom. Brienne wasn’t sure what she was expecting but maybe the argument would have continued or maybe Tormund would have asked her what she thought they should do about Jaime. He didn’t and she didn’t pressure him to ask her either. Perhaps neither of them wanted to deal with more dramatics tonight.

He pushed himself up from the couch and walked around it as she started for the hall. When he blocked her path, Brienne attempted to move around him.

“What’s going on?” She frowned at him. It only deepened when he lifted a hand up to cup the side of her face, stroking his thumb over her jawline.

“What are you doing?” She asked softly, that familiar feeling of delicious anxiety stirring in the pit of her stomach.

“I’m kissing you,” the words came out in a whispered plea.

Her long arms hung at her sides as his lips pressed to hers in a gentle kiss. He kissed her like he would break her. Fingertips trailed along her face, down to her arms, and to her hands where he laced her fingers with his. He took one step forward and she took one back until she was pressed against the wall of the hallway.

Tormund wrapped her arms around his neck and when she’d linked her hands together, he moved his to firmly grasp her waist.

Their lips were still locked and the original gentleness of his kisses began to slowly ebb away as passion overcame the both of them. His hands roamed over her the dips and curves of her body and he moved his head down to kiss along her neck as wet trails followed behind his lips and tongue towards her collar bone.

Brienne’s leg lifted to wrap around his waist and he took the underside of her thigh in his large hand, grip strong and firm. He took her other leg in his hand and lifted it up to wrap around his waist.

She smoothed her hands along his neck and into his hair as deepened the kiss between them. His breathing became low and shallow and when he opened his mouth, Brienne stole that opportunity to slip her tongue between his lips, dragging it against the roof of his mouth. He groaned loudly and pulled back to look at her, only briefly before he was kissing her again. She would never tire of the way his beard felt against her skin, slightly scratchy and just enough to make her moan.

Her arms rested on his shoulders and she laughed against his lips when he pushed his hips up into her. If he pushed his hips hard enough, the friction of her jeans and his thrusts fed that heat forming between her legs.

Tormund thrust his hips forward for a few more seconds until he pulled back to lower Brienne’s legs, her feet back on solid ground.

She looked at him, dazed and lustful, wondering just what his next move could be. Her hips shifted a little as his hands moved down to roughly unbutton her jeans.

“What about….” the baby, she didn’t get to finish because he silenced her with a kiss.

He shoved her jeans down past her thighs until they pooled around her ankle. Tormund’s large, beefy hands trailed over her legs all the way down to her ankles. Squatting, he looked up at her expectantly. Brienne stepped out of the jeans and gasped as her legs parted and Tormund cupped her through her underwear.

She was so damp now it seeped through her underwear.

Her eyes slowly closed and she felt her underwear slowly being pulled down her legs. In a flash, Tormund’s tongue was between her legs and she gasped, her eyes blazed open. She looked down at him and was met with green eyes locked on her.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she kept her eyes on him and began to roll her hips against his mouth. He chuckled a throaty growl of a laugh and Brienne nearly died from the sound of it. He took her hands in his, lacing their fingers once again and lapping at her rapidly.

“ _Oh_ **_god_ ** ,” she tried so hard to not make too much noise. She really didn’t want to wake the baby but goddammit, he was doing it again.

He held her hands tightly so she couldn’t pull away from him. Not even the coldness of the wall on her bare bottom could stop the heat radiating from her body right now. Her hips rolled forward and when she looked at him again, he was simply holding his tongue out in place, letting her control just what spots she wanted to feel. A whimper came from her lips and her head fell back as she cried out loudly.

His teeth gave the gentlest of grazes against her nub and he sucked on it until Brienne could no longer stay still. She writhed and squirmed against him and her knees buckled as her orgasm hit her hard. Her entire body shook violently and she pleaded with him, for what she was not sure, until his tongue slowed to a halt and he released the firm grip he had on her hands to catch her so she wouldn’t fall.

Tormund pulled Brienne down to the floor as he lay down. He moved to hover over her and she looked up at him. He waited in silence and she moved her hand down between them and undid his jeans.

His erection sprung forward, brushing against her lower stomach. She pushed his jeans off his hips and took his backside into her hands and spread her legs to let him thrust inside her.

There was a very brief, beautiful sweet burn as he thrust into her and she released another whimper.

Tormund wasted no time thrusting into her, the rhythm of his strokes were fast and deep. His skin slapped against hers and the groans between them grew with each stroke.

He placed a hand on each side of her head as if in the stance to do push-ups.

“ _Yes_ ,” she said in a breathy whisper over and over as he pushed forward and pulled back.

The grasp on his behind tightened as he thrusted deeper inside her. Her cries were louder and he was doing that _thing_ he always did that drove her crazy. He knew how much she loved when he nipped at her jaw and chin while they had sex.

He began to pound into her, his hips moving in uncontrollable jerks now. She’d probably be bruised in the morning but it felt so good. Brienne’s hands slipped over his backside, up to his back and eventually to his shoulders.

They gazed into each other’s eyes. Her lips were parted in a silent moan and he was gritting his teeth.

God knows if she hadn’t been taking birth control this would be the night he got her pregnant and she was so thankful that she was. He could have asked her for anything right now and she would have given it to him.

And seemingly, as if he could read her mind, he began to utter the words, “Come for me, Brienne. Come around me. Come on me.”

And she did die.

For no greater than three long seconds, she arched her back into him and she was coming again, tightening and relaxing around him until he too spilled himself into her. His hips jerked and twitched until the thrusts slowed and collapsed on top of her.

They looked at each other once more then began to laugh.

“The hallway floor?” she was panting now.

“I told you the baby was sleeping in the bed!”

“You do realize we’re going to feel this in the morning, yes?” She couldn’t help but laugh again.

Their legs became tangled when he pushed his jeans and boxer briefs off entirely. His head was tilted against her shoulder and she looked up at the ceiling.

“We should get a bigger place,” he said suddenly.

Brienne stayed quiet for a moment and then turned to look at him.

“You mean like a bigger apartment?”

“No, I mean like a house,” Tormund laughed at her like a house was the _obvious_ answer.

“Well, my lease isn’t up for another four months and you’ve got the brewery. Can we even afford a house right now?”

She knew for sure she couldn’t afford it on her salary and wow, was she actually thinking about getting a house with him?

“Maybe in four months things will be different.” He turned on his side and propped on an elbow looking down at her. “Listen, maybe not a house but maybe a bigger apartment or a townhouse like Sansa. Gabriel, Brienne, and Tormund.”

Those three names sounded so sweetly on his lips, she closed her eyes and smiled at the thought of it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t speak out against Jaime, today.”

She looked up at him as he stroked some stray hair from her face.

“It’s so hard sometimes. I feel like one person wants me here and the other person wants me there. I agree with you that Jaime has got to do better with prioritizing Gabriel but I don’t want us fighting about it. We’ve got to get along. I want us to get along.”

“Well, Brienne, sometimes things don’t work out in your favor but I was an asshole today and I can admit that. I shouldn’t have said those things I said. Jaime knows he’s fucked up and that wasn’t my place. It’s just that I love Gabriel so much and I want the best for that little boy. _I’m_ his dad, too.”

Brienne nodded her head.

“You are his father and I don’t ever doubt that but he’s got _two_ ,” she held up two fingers for good measure, “and we’ve got to get along.”

Tormund leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her fingers.

“We really can’t fall asleep down here,” they were laughing again.

...but they did.


	18. An Irresistible Wench

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost done with the story, two more chapters after this to be exact but fret not (if you care) because I have more Brienne/Tormund stories on the shelf to post and share with you all. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Y'all are the best :-)

One year. 

Gabriel was one year old and Brienne just couldn’t believe the time had gone by so quickly. She still found herself taken aback almost daily that she was someone’s mother. Would it always feel weird when she was addressed as “the mother of Gabriel Tarth” when she met with others? And her son… how could she be blessed with such an amazing human being? He rarely cried or fussed and though he wasn’t walking, he had mastered standing and clapping at the same time.

Tormund’s questions about purchasing a home eventually dwindled until he didn’t bring it up. It didn’t go unnoticed that he spent way more time at the brewery and more of his items occupied her apartment as time pressed on. 

It took getting used to but Brienne liked seeing his boots my the door and his dress shirts in the closet or his shaving cream in her shower. She wasn’t fond of all the clumps of ginger hair she cleaned out of the drain but they were working on that.

She and Jaime discussed whether or not Gabriel would be having a birthday party two months before his first birthday. Neither really saw the point and Tormund seemed fine with whatever decision they made. It didn’t stop her from fixing a cake for him despite that.

“I thought you didn’t  _ get the big deal _ when it came to birthday parties. Now you’re here making the boy a cake,” Tormund was teasing. She wouldn’t let him win.

“I changed my mind,” Brienne said simply, smoothing icing over the small cake. 

After a few taste tastes, Gabriel seemed to favor chocolate (no surprise, really) over all the others. Tormund stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her prepare the icing. Her cake preparation was messy at best but she wanted to prepare it on her own, despite Sansa’s offer as godmother to just purchase him a cake. Some icing dripped on the side and in a fantastic save, she scooped it with her finger and licked it off.

“Do that just once more,” Tormund teased and she made a face at him, laughing.

He walked over and stood next to her, leaning on the counter. He was looking down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs.

“Something’s on your mind,” Brienne focused on her cake but kept her ears open for him.

“I’m worried he won’t show,” he said softly.

Brienne stopped spreading the icing on the cake and looked up slowly to Tormund. 

In truth, she was worried about that, too. Podrick was going to take photos of Gabriel today and Jaime said he would be there so he could be in a few and also because well, it was his son’s first birthday. She made him promise and he did but it didn’t stop the fear creeping up that he wouldn’t show. In fact, she was sadly confident that he probably wouldn’t.

Something would “come up” and Tormund would be there to fill the extra void that Jaime left. It wasn’t fair that he constantly had to do that though.

Of course, she didn’t want to admit this to Tormund. They hadn’t had one fight about Jaime since they made up in the hallway. They were living in coupled bliss, parenting and making love to each other. She just didn’t want to mess that up.

“If he doesn’t show,” she began, “I will actually have to put my foot down.”

She could feel him not being convinced at the firmness in her voice but she meant it. The past couple of weekends he had been showing but she was sick of the last minute drop-ins and drop-offs. She and Tormund needed a reprieve. 

“You know how I feel about this already so I’m not going to go into it.”

Brienne bit her tongue to give off some retort and her mouth fell open when he scooped a finger into the icing and pulled his finger back to lick it. 

“Excuse you!” She protested.

Then he stopped and turned his finger towards her.

“Please, just once more. If not for me at least do it for Norway.”

“I want you to know that you’re absolutely ridiculous,” she pushed his hand away from her face and released a sound of distress when he playfully wiped the icing on her cheek. “Are you  _ mad _ ?!” She wanted to be annoyed but she couldn’t.

He grabbed her around the waist with one arm and pulled her close to him and because he was who he was, licked the icing from her cheek.

“Oh my GOD!” She slapped at his shoulder and he grabbed a hold of her wrist.

“Alright so I can smear some chocolate somewhere else and get a lick? Or do I have to beg you?”

Brienne’s traitorous stomach dipped at his words but she pulled back and shook her head.

“I need to finish this. Why don’t you go wake Gabe up? Father’s going to call in an hour and I want him awake and not fussy or doing that weird Baby Zombie thing he does when he just wakes up.”

“Alright,” he was leaving the kitchen, “but after the day’s over, I’m gonna eat you like cake so save that icing.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, getting back to work.

As usual, her father’s conversation was beyond entertaining. She hadn’t seen this side of her father since… well, she had never seen that side of her father. Brienne hadn’t really known her mother, not really, having lost her at such a young age. So her father spent a lot of time working and supporting her or thrusting Brienne into all these extra curricular activities as a child just to keep her busy.

When she was shipped off to live the with Stark family, she didn’t mind it so much because she and her father were so distant but since Gabriel’s birth they had grown quite close.

And speaking of close, he was pretty fond of Tormund too. Of course he had taken to Tormund when he met him that month he’d spent with Brienne after she had given birth to Gabriel. The day she introduced him Tormund to Selwyn all he told her was that he knew that was going to happen before either one of them did.

“Can you say grandpa? Can you say that for me?” 

Selwyn cooed at Gabriel like they were the only ones having a conversation.

“Dad, I don’t think he’s on that level yet but when he’s talking I’m sure his first words will be your name.”

“Oh, you tease me but when he says that before ‘mama’ I don’t want you to be shocked.”

She snorted and smoothed the top of Gabriel’s head.

Brienne sat with Gabriel in her lap, working her hardest to keep his attention focused on the conversation but now Tormund and Selwyn were talking about their favorite rugby team and Brienne couldn’t be bothered, her team was out and she was a sore loser.

“While you two discuss rugby teams, I’m going to take a shower.”

“Oh, now she’s mad because she can’t talk about her losing team.”

“The both of you can just shut up,” she ignored their laughter.

Tormund took Gabriel from her and sat the baby in his lap, not missing a beat. Gabriel was already tugging at Tormund’s beard and climbing all over him. Brienne stood at the doorway and watched them for a moment. She headed down the hall for her shower with a smile on her face.

Podrick was very patient with them as they took photos. Gabriel was only a baby after all. He wanted to play with everything in his sights and his attention could only be held for so long. Brienne and Tormund sat on either side of him, big smiles on their face as Podrick snapped photos of them. He collapsed in Tormund’s arms which started an onslaught of death by tickles. 

Brienne still could not believe she had become this person. Photographs for a baby just because he was turning one? Ridiculous. 

She briefly glanced at her watch, wondering but also knowing where Jaime was. He was  _ not _ here like he was instructed to be and that was the problem. Brienne was not going to let his tardiness ruin the day however. Watching Tormund and Gabriel cured any uneasiness that flooded her thoughts. Brienne knew no matter how active Jaime would be in Gabriel’s life, Tormund was here. He’d always be here.

“Never seen you smile so much,” Podrick stated quietly when he stood from his crouching position next to her.

“What?” Brienne frowned and turned to look at him.

Pod laughed and nodded his head.

“There’s the assistant director that I’m used to, frowning and scowling.”

“I do  _ not _ scowl,” Brienne retorted.

She was confident she was scowling even as she said this to him. Instead, she looked at Tormund and Gabriel, playing in the grass and rolling around like two wild animals. It was hard not to laugh, honestly.

“Those kisses are  _ my _ kisses,” Brienne ran over and knelt down to scoop Gabriel up. Tormund grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap. She had never laughed so much in her life.

“And _ those _ kisses,” Tormund leaned forward and kissed Brienne right on the scar above her lip, “are mine.”

“We seem to be having the time of our lives,” Jaime’s voice cut through the laughter like a sharp blade. 

Brienne looked up to him and cleared her throat. He was late. God, he was  _ so _ late. Tormund’s grip around her waist tightened and he held on to Gabriel just a little tighter, too. 

“Sorry, I’m late but you know how the saying goes -  _ better late than never _ , am I right?” He laughed but it died immediately when neither Tormund nor Brienne  returned with laughter of their own.

He’d promised he would be on time. The whole point of him arriving was so he could take pictures with Gabriel, too. 

“Pod was about to leave and you’ve missed your opportunity to take pictures with Gabriel.”

She squeezed Tormund’s hand and he relaxed his hold on the both of them. Brienne slowly stood and reached her hands out for Gabriel. The moment Jaime was in his sights, he reached for him. He had a large stuffed toy lion and Brienne had the urge to smack it from his hand.

“I don’t mind staying a little while longer to take some photos of you two.”

“Will it just be the two of us or will his mother also be joining us? We are his parents, after all.”

Brienne wasn’t sure if Jaime was saying it with the usual smugness or if he was just simply stating a fact. What she was sure of was that she was not in the mood for his tardiness and comments anymore.

“That is  _ enough _ ,” she pointed at Jaime. Tormund was already standing up, probably getting ready to say something.

Jaime looked taken aback at her sudden frustration. 

“Tormund, here.” Brienne took Gabriel from Jaime and handed him over to Tormund. She grabbed the stuffed animal and did the same thing. She took Jaime by the hand and pulled him away from the designated photograph area.

She swiped her hands down like two blades between the two of them and took a deep breath, “Jaime, you’re late. Either you’re late or you’re just not here. Gabriel turned one. I mean, he’s a baby and it’s not a big deal to him but it is to  _ us _ . I’d like you to at least pretend that you care.”

Jaime looked at her for a moment, a good long moment. The minute that passed seemed like forever. She could hear Gabriel’s baby giggles behind her and him trying his best to imitate whatever weird bear growl was making in the background. For a quick second, Jaime’s eyes flickered over her shoulder to Tormund and then back to her.

“I’m sorry, Brienne. I  _ do _ care.”

“Jaime, you’re  _ always _ sorry but you never change. You never do anything different. I know that you care but I need to see it!”

She could hear the exasperation in her own voice and it made her sad.

“What happens when Gabriel’s eleven? Twenty-one? Will you still be doing this? This is repetitive behavior and if it’s me then it’s fine but this isn’t about me anymore. This is about  _ us _ . And most importantly, this is about Gabriel. If we’re going to do this co-parent thing, we’ve got to find balance and  _ stick with it _ .”

“You’re right, Brienne. I’m paying so much money to the attorneys that I have to put in double the work now. It will get better, I promise.”

“I know that you’re going through a divorce now, Jaime. I know it’s difficult but you have to stay in communication with us. And Tormund  _ is _ here to stay. It doesn’t matter how much you hate each other. He’s not going anywhere and you’re not going anywhere. I’m not saying that you two have to become friends but I would really appreciate if we could be cordial and respect each other.”

“And have you said these things to Tormund?”

Brienne frowned at him, “Of course I have, Jaime! Just-” she held her hands up and closed her eyes, “please let me know when you’re going to be late or if you cannot take Gabriel for the weekend in a timely manner. We cannot keep accommodating our lives to your schedule.”

Jaime nodded his head and he looked sincere enough that Brienne wasn’t going to beat him up anymore about it. But she did add-

“In ad _ vance _ , Jaime. Please, at least a week.”

Jaime looked down, nodding his head.

“You and I, are we good? I know this has been a lot for you and the baby. I don’t think I could live with myself knowing that you were angry at me.”

“Frustrated, mostly but no, I’m not angry.” 

She smiled, “You want to be in his life and be his dad. Most men would have just left us both alone.”

“Is that your way of thanking me?”

“Thanking you for doing what a dad is supposed to do? Ha! No, I’m just saying that you’re a good egg though you’re constantly trying to tell me otherwise.”

“Well, will you tell Cersei that?”

“And be murdered by that giant bodyguard of hers? Absolutely not. We both missed the mark on that one, Jaime Lannister.”

“What can I say, you were an irresistible wench.” 

He smiled at her and she returned it. Gabriel squealed and Jaime turned his head in the direction of the baby and walked over to Tormund. The two men looked at each other and with a nod, he handed the baby over and Jaime wrapped his arms around him, kissing the top of his blonde, curly-topped head.

It would take work but they would most assuredly get there.

By the end of the day, everyone was tired. Gabriel was so full of life and that chocolate cake did not help. Still, Jaime offered to take him off Brienne and Tormund’s hands and neither of them argued with that. It would be nice to spend a quiet evening together. The ride home, which Brienne proudly drove with minimal commentary from Tormund was full of all the dirty things he would do to her once they got back to her apartment.

But the exact opposite happened.

They found themselves curled on the couch, sleeping, as television light blared in their sleeping faces. Brienne’s head in Tormund’s lap and his own back against the couch, nose straight to the ceiling, snoring loudly.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, both Brienne and Tormund gathered their worn out adult bodies together and managed to make it to the bed where they collapsed without even bothering with their pajamas.

“You’re right,” she said in a sleepy voice, “We need to get a bigger place.”


	19. No Take-Backs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a fluffy chapter. You've all been warned, lol. Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews and kudos!

The moment Brienne mentioned that they needed a bigger place, Tormund was on it. She was so tired that night but the excitement of that sparked a new energy in him that he couldn’t contain. While she continued on sleeping, Tormund was sitting up in bed browsing through websites for home investments with his reading glasses perched on his nose.

In the morning, waking up only to use the restroom, Brienne discovered that he was finally asleep. The glasses were lopsided on his face, the computer screen was pitch black but still sitting upright on his lap, and his red hair framed his bearded face like a ball of fire.

She gently removed the laptop from his lap and shut it closed, sitting it on her side of the bed on the bedside table. Gingerly, she removed his glasses from his face and folded them, reaching a long arm over to put them on his bedside table. When Brienne leaned back, his eyes were open and he was giving her a sleepy smile.

“I found a really affordable area. Big backyard,” he yawned, “Gabriel can grow and play.”

“Sleep first, house later.”

She kissed him on the tip of his nose and he wrapped an arm around her. They settled into the bed and soon Brienne was asleep again. It was uncommon for her to sleep her days away but after having a baby and falling in love, things had taken quite the turn. Not that she was complaining, she adored the changes happening in her life. 

In the afternoon as they both settled and she checked through her emails and the overflowing text messages and photos that Jaime sent her of Gabriel surrounded by  _ more _ toys that he received as birthday presents from him. Between the two of his fathers, she was she realized she would have to be the stern parent. There was no way she was raising a bratty child. These men would buy Gabriel the moon if he asked for it.

When they were finally awake, Tormund took it upon himself to fix them breakfast. It was always an adventure eating whatever he prepared. He loved adding beer to just about everything and she found herself actually ...enjoying it his odd culinary twist? 

Everything seemed to be changing around her so fast. So many things she found herself being more open to. More laughter. The happiness he brought her. The love they made. Openly accepting his affection and realizing she deserved it. Kissing him in public. Allowing him to love her with no fears or doubts.

The idea of her feeling Jaime would be the only one almost made her laugh now. Jaime was never promised to her. Not even a little. Not from the beginning. Even when he tried to come back into her life it was mainly because Cersei wanted nothing more to do with him.

“You’re off in La La Land, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about how big our future house will be?”

He flashed a toothy grin and she bowed her head and smiled. Owning a house made her nervous. The responsibility of that seemed greater than parenthood. How was that so? It terrified her almost.

Sure, some things were scary. If she and Tormund got a house, what else did that mean for them? They never talked about things like that, never needed to really. Life just set the pace and she was adjusting to the fact that they just seemed to follow it. He was as good as done with his own apartment. Only times they ever really stayed over there was when it was a Gabriel and Jaime weekend and he needed to pick up things. She really loved that tub.

Were they really about to become a family with a combined income and a home? Would they need to discuss their bank accounts and the way the bills would be set up? God, she was overthinking this. She really was. Curse her worrisome mind!

“I see it all over your face,” he moved away from the stove and walked over to pull her up from her chair.

Tormund placed his hand on the small of her waist and grabbed her hand with the other. He slowly danced with her around the kitchen and they looked at each other.

“You are nervous about getting a house. And it’s okay to be nervous. When I first started falling in love with you, I got kinda scared about it, you know?”

“Why?”

“Because I had convinced myself that you would never feel the same way. You were a handful in the beginning. Even when I saw you checking me out that first time we met at Mrs. Catelyn’s house.”

“I was not checking you out,” Brienne blurted out. “I was pregnant and extremely horny.”

They both laughed at that. It seemed like yesterday he was trying to charm her in those same torn jeans he was wearing now.

“You fought it though. God, you fought it.” 

Tormund shook his head, seemingly amazed at how well she did fight her own growing feelings for him. 

“But I told you that I love you and Gabriel, more than anything in this world. And I meant that. Life won’t always be perfect but even in those bad times, Brienne, I’m always going to be here. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

She nodded her head and could feel the sting of tears filling her eyes but she fought them back. She didn't want to hear him tease her about her crying but of course, he did anyway.

“You big crybaby,” he teased.

“I am not!” She laughed and punched him in the shoulder.

“Good to know you can still kick my ass,” he rubbed his shoulder and chuckled.

Before she could let him know that yes, she absolutely could and would always be able to kick his ass, their lips pressed together and her eyes slowly closed. Tormund’s hands moved over the dip in her back and rest over the curve of her behind.

Grateful his eggs were no longer sizzling in the skillet, Brienne pushed herself closer against Tormund, their kiss deepening only just a little. His hands gripped her behind firmly and he leaned forward, causing her to do a graceful lean back as one arm slipped around his neck. He was gently digging his fingers into the softest parts of her behind, steadily hardening against her as he moved her body closer and closer to his.

“Breakfast,” he said in a low growl against her neck, causing a shiver up her spine.

Something told her that he wasn’t talking about the food. It was proven correctly when he gave her behind a proper smack, causing her to squeak out a sound and took her by the hand, leading her to their bedroom. He gave her a playful twirl and she collapsed on the bed on her back, laughing as he climbed into bed with her.

Hovering over her, his expression became very serious.

“Marry me,” he said softly.

Brienne blinked and nervously laughed.

“I know, it’s stupid. We said it didn’t matter but it does.”

She looked up at him, shocked at the sudden question, change of mood, and sober expression on his face. Yes, the conversation went along the lines of never really needing to get married. There were no points to prove and it was assumed quite plainly that they were settling into a life together.

“It doesn’t have to be fancy. We never needed all that fancy shit anyway. I just want you every way I can have you, Brienne. Will you marry me?”

“Are you serious?” She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not right now. It was just so sudden.

“Yes, I’m fucking serious. Marry me and give me more babies,  _ please _ . Nothing in this world would make me happier.”

She took his face in her hands and began to laugh.

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

He leaned his head down and began to kiss her again, tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth. Her laughter became soft moans and sighs as his tongue became entangled with hers. She could feel his hands moving down between their bodies to undo the button on his jeans and this prompted her to push her underwear down past her hips and legs.

Only when she gave him a nudge with her knee did he pull his lips away from her and scooted back in the bed to finish pulling her underwear off. As he did that, she took the opportunity to pull her t-shirt over her head and toss it aside. 

Tormund made up on his promise of eating her like cake, kissing along her long legs and inner thighs until his head was nestled deeply between her thighs. He stayed there until she cried out loudly for him and pulled back to let her catch her breath and stayed there some more. And more. Until she was practically begging for him to be inside her.

Brienne wasn’t quite ready for another baby, not by a long shot but she knew that in the future - perhaps when Gabriel was older they could give it a try.

His thrusts were purposeful and long, killing her slowly but beautifully as he took his time making love to her.

When his thrusts slowed as they both reached their peak, Brienne hitting hers for the third time that day, he lay there for a moment still inside her. 

Brienne’s hands were splayed over his back and she was licking her lips, panting. His breathing was still heavy and their bodies glistened with sweat. Her gaze was focused on her bedroom ceiling but her attention was drifting to the thought of marriage.

She had just agreed to marry this man that she loved so fiercely and wonderfully so. And he belonged to her and Gabriel wholeheartedly.

Tormund needed to catch his breath she realized and it made her smile to herself. Slowly, he pulled himself out of her and rolled over onto his back, pulling her with him. He gripped the underside of her thigh and rested it over his waist. Brienne lay there, turned on her side now, watching his profile.

He looked completely satisfied, like he had in fact just eaten a big meal.

“I fuckin’ love you,” he looked over to her and smiled.

“You’d better,” she replied and began to laugh when he turned back on his side and nestled into the crook of her neck.

“Give me thirty minutes and I’ll be back where I was again.”

She had never laughed so hard in her life before. She would probably  _ never _ laugh this hard with anyone else.

“Thirty minutes tops because I’m going to get breakfast.”

“Yeah, thirty minutes - no take-backs.”

“No take-backs? Are you twelve?”

She sat up in bed and stretched her arms high above her head. Tormund’s own hand snaked around her waist and rested on the slight swell of her stomach.

“I’m a grown fucking man, Brienne Tarth. I thought you’d know that by now.”

His hand slipped down down between her legs and she never quite made it to breakfast.

In the evening when Brienne fixed dinner, Jaime came over with Gabriel and was greeted at the door by Tormund. Normally, the two gave a curt exchange but Jaime seemed so excited that he didn’t have time to hate the other man. 

“Good afternoon, everyone. There’s something I want to show you.”

Tormund and Brienne both frowned in confusion.

“No really, you have to see this!”

It was rare to ever see Jaime this excited so Brienne knew it had to be a big deal. 

“Alright Gabriel, Daddy is going to sit you down and we’ll just continue to do the thing that we did earlier. Yes?”

Gabriel looked at Jaime and started to giggle. Brienne put a hand on her hip and held the large wooden spoon in the other. When Jaime sat him down on the ground, Gabriel swayed off balance for a moment. She almost ran over to catch him but Jaime put his hand up to stop her and so, she waited patiently. Gabriel’s tiny hands reached out for Brienne immediately and he wriggled his fingers.

Then:

One step.

Then two.

And soon, his little legs were toddling towards Brienne. She tossed the spoon onto the counter and gasped loudly, startling the baby. He fell on his bottom and she let out a squeal, kneeling down to scoop him up in her arms and spin him around.

“You’re walking!”

Everyone in the kitchen gave great sounds of joy. Tormund whooped very loudly and slapped Jaime hard on the back. Brienne peppered Gabriel with kisses and he only laughed in response to her. Every time she didn’t think it could feel any better, it always did. He constantly amazed her.

He started up his excited baby babble and buried his head in Brienne’s chest then pulled back to look up at her. Truly, this child was looking more and more like his father every day but still, he had her eyes and her hair. The little blond curls were all over his head, messy and soft.

She put him back down on the floor and marveled at how he toddled around the kitchen. He made a beeline for Tormund and the man instantly picked him up.

“Congrats, Gabe! My man!”

Jaime shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over to Brienne. 

“I recorded it when he first started but I thought you’d appreciate the surprise.”

“Oh god, yes, thank you so much. We really appreciate that.”

In her excitement, Brienne gave him a hug and he awkwardly pulled back after, smiling. They were all marveling in Gabriel’s new talent: WALKING! After some time, Jaime swung his hands back and forth and nodded.

“I should be heading out now. I’ll see you two later. Bye, Gabriel.” He looked at his son and smiled. 

Gabriel hadn’t quite mastered words yet but he balled up his chubby little fist and shook it from side to side indicating that he was saying goodbye to Jaime. Tormund was the genius that taught him that. He was fantastic.

Brienne and Tormund looked to each other when Jaime turned to leave and it was as if they were in sync with each other mentally.

Tormund followed behind him, Gabriel resting on his hip and cleared his throat.

“Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m sure we’ve got enough for one more person. Table isn’t that big and since we’re all so tall we’ll probably bump knees but you know, whatever.”

Brienne turned back to the stove with a smile on her face.

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that.”

“I know, you asshole, but we  _ want _ to. It’ll give you more time with Gabe.”

Jaime didn’t put up much of a fight after that. If Brienne was stubborn then Tormund could be much worse. The two men set up the table and put Gabriel in the high chair, and they had dinner. It started awkwardly at first, but by the end Brienne was sure that Jaime and Tormund’s relationship could get stronger with time.

If they let it.


	20. Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Girl becomes a single mom. Brienne's journey into motherhood is a lot of things but it's never going to be easy. (modern AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, I can't believe I finished this fic. Honestly. It was bittersweet getting to the end. I patted myself on the back but was instantly saddened because it has been absolutely fun updating and talking about Brienne/Tormund in the comments with you all. 
> 
> With that being said, I'm not done writing about this couple and I'm sure I'll come back and visit this universe again. We need some B/T to tide us over until the show returns!
> 
> I really appreciate all the reviews and kudos I have received. I've been writing another fic that you will be getting very soon! Until then, happy holidays to all of you. And to those of you that don't celebrate anything at all, HAPPY MONDAY!

It was quiet. Finally.

Brienne, tired and drained from chasing a running baby around the house could finally collapse in bed. Once he began walking there was no stopping him. And the walking eventually became running. 

Gabriel was shooting up like a weed, which was to be expected. His long legs carried him through the apartment while Brienne scooped him up and covered him in kisses. She spent a lot of her time chasing after him lately. They were spending a lot of time together during the week with Tormund not being around as much.

As the brewery’s popularity grew, so did his time working there. There were days he and Brienne hardly had a chance to speak with each other, let alone cuddle or make love. And with a growing boy running around the apartment, sometimes Brienne was just too tired. 

Although lately, she’d found herself being even more tired. This past weekend when Jaime picked up Gabriel, she managed to sleep the entire day away.

She could chalk it up to being overworked but she was almost confident it just might be something else…

As they were saving money for their down payment on a home, while refusing the help of her father, working had become Tormund’s latest obsession. And like most everything else, he was good at that, too.

She turned on the baby monitor, listening to the quiet in Gabriel’s bedroom. Satisfied, she turned on her side and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

His cries woke her up two hours later. Brienne’s eyes slowly blinked open and she sighed. It was eleven yet she felt like it was three in the morning. It almost felt as if someone had hit her with a sledgehammer and she did not have the time to actually recover. She stared up at the ceiling and sighed. 

“Gabriel,  _ please _ .” 

She lay there for a moment, hoping that he would eventually cry himself back to sleep but when his crying did not cease, she slowly sat up in bed with a sigh. She got up and sleepily trudged her way down the hall but slowed to a stop when Gabriel’s cries began to cease and the sound of Tormund’s baritone, soothing and calm was like music to her ears.

“Don’t want to wake Mama, do we?”

She stood in the doorway of his bedroom and watched as the man rocked him from side to side. Gabriel’s little hand held on to this back of his head, gently tugging at his ginger hair.

“We gotta be quiet so we can let Mama sleep,” it made Brienne smile. “If Mama gets sleep then Papa is happy, too.” 

He chuckled and Brienne bit back her own laughter at that. She could be pretty grumpy when she didn’t get her sleep. She hoped she wasn’t too bad.

“Pa-pa,” Gabriel said in response, his voice sleepy.

Tormund froze and Brienne gripped the doorway, watching them. 

“What’s that?” He asked again and pulled Gabriel to get a better look at him. “Say it again!”

“Pa-pa.”

For two months, he had been trying to get Gabriel to say “papa” and it was finally paying off. He’d already beat him to the punch when he said “mama” two weeks ago, reaching out to Brienne. She stuck her tongue out at him but she knew it was mostly because Gabriel spent the majority of his time around her.

He turned around with a giant smile on his face, startled to see Brienne standing there. She laughed as he walked over, still holding Gabriel.

“Did you hear? Did you hear what he called me?” He sounded completely amazed and fascinated and dare she say, emotional?

“He called you Papa,” Brienne grinned and cupped the side of his face, kissing him.

Gabriel whined and wedged himself between Brienne and Tormund and they both chuckled at that. She kissed the top of his head while attempting and succeeding from letting him stick his thumb in his mouth.

“He knows I’m his Papa,” Tormund whispered excitedly.

“He knows,” he repeated.

“That’s because you  _ are _ you big dummy.”

“I am.” He said it like he was just realizing it for the first time. “I  _ am _ . And you’re my wife. And this is my family.”

“Absolutely, this is your family,” Brienne slipped her finger under his chin and tilted his head head towards hers. She could see the wetness in the pool of his eyes and leaned back to smile.

“Now who’s the crybaby?” She whispered with a laugh before they kissed very tenderly.

She wiped the falling tear from his cheek and pressed her lips to his, “Put Gabriel to bed. I miss you.”

That “I miss you” turned into  _ so _ much more.

House hunting, a walking baby, working a full-time job, co-parenting with the very often and very busy father of her child had taken its toll on Brienne. One Wednesday, exactly a month after Gabriel’s acknowledgment of Tormund as his Papa, she called in to work feeling mighty sick and decided to let Gabriel go to Catelyn’s so she could have a day of rest.

At eighteen months, Gabriel was not only running his way around the apartment that both Brienne and Tormund now shared but he was giving his fair share of evolved baby speak.

As she dropped him off at Catelyn’s, he gave his usual routine.

“Ma-ma! No leave!”

Of course, his words came out like  _ mah-mah, no lee  _ but she could translate for him just fine. She was proud of his advancing vocabulary even though it mostly consisted of commands from his end. He held on tightly to Brienne as she walked inside Catelyn’s home. 

“Mama is tired,” Brienne said in her best “mama is  _ not _ tired” voice.

Catelyn took one look at Brienne and perked her eyebrows.

“You look peaky,” she held out her arms and Gabriel all but jumped in them, leaving Brienne behind as if he had not just begged her to stay with him. Traitor.

“I am feeling disgusting,” Brienne admitted. “Between Tormund working from sun up literally to sun down and Gabriel feeling privileged enough to destroy my apartment now that he’s walking…” 

Then there was also work, that always got consistently worse around the holidays because of all the accounts her job had. She was staying late at work a lot these days and Gabriel was a baby, he didn’t know the difference between his parents being dead on their feet tired or full of energy to play with him.

“Have you taken the day off to get rest?”

“Yes.”

“You should probably go to the doctor. Specifically, Dr. Targaryen.”

Brienne frowned at her.

“Dany? Why?”

When Catelyn nodded knowingly at her, Brienne’s frown only deepened.

“Oh, no. No.  _ No _ ! No?”

“Yes,” Dr. Daenerys Targaryen sat in the rolling chair with her hands clasped tightly, hanging down between her legs while Brienne sat on the hospital bed.

“We’re going to do an ultrasound to see how far along you are and then you can tell Tormund the good news! Gabriel is going to be a big brother, how exciting?”

Yes, how  _ exciting _ .

She swallowed the large lump in her throat and waited until it was time for her ultrasound. She had only taken a pee test and for all she knew, Dany could be wrong. So could Catelyn. There had been an endless string of pregnancy scares dating Tormund but the birth control always saved her.

Always…

Oh, who was she kidding? How could she sit here and call the  _ doctor _ wrong?

Thirty minutes later, lying on her back she could see the mass on the ultrasound screen and sure enough, there it was. 

A baby. And even looking at it, it looked strange to her. Different. Already, she could see this pregnancy would be much different from Gabriel’s.

“So you’re about two months along,” Daenerys explained to Brienne in that ever soothing voice that made it seem like being pregnant while trying to find a house on an apartment living budget with a one year old wasn’t stressful at all.

Brienne nodded.

“Oh, look at that.”

“Oh, look at what?” Brienne propped up on her elbows and looked at the sonogram, her heart rate already picking up.

“Kid 1.” Daenerys’ pen hit the screen gently then she moved to another mass and smiled, “Kid 2.”

“WHAT.” Brienne sat up, ignoring the cold jelly on her stomach and leaned forward to get a closer look at the screen. 

Sure enough, it was there.  _ They _ were there. How hadn’t she seen it before? Hadn’t she already known? Of course, she had. She could have. No, she didn’t even realize she was pregnant she had been so busy with work and with Gabriel. And again, he wasn’t even two yet. He wasn’t even potty trained. God, they were just starting to potty train him. And he could barely speak!

She fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

“Now I suppose it’s time to tell you to stop taking the birth control.”

Brienne turned to Daenerys and stared at her with a deadpan expression.

Her drive home was long and quiet. And she took extra time getting there because she did not want to wreck the one car they would probably be using now that there would be three children in the Gianstbane-Tarth household.

Oh god, three children!

What in the hell was she going to do with with  _ three _ children?

Because she was feeling unwell the rest of the day, she informed Jaime that Gabriel would need to spend the night with him. It was just so she could get a night of rest and also figure out some way to tell Tormund the news. They were already discussing the savings for the house and Brienne was absolutely refusing help from her father even though he offered every chance he could get.

It was his retirement money and he needed it much more than they did. 

But now, she was almost tempted to just take any offerings he had. They were still saving and not quite where they wanted to be yet.

After texting Jaime and getting the confirmation that he would be going to pick up Gabriel, she alerted all parties involved, headed into her apartment, and buried herself under the covers. With no appetite, her day was spent in bed sleeping it away.

It was Tormund that gently pulled her from her slumber some hours later.

“Brienne,” he whispered into her ear, gently shaking her.

With a little bit more prodding, Brienne turned over in the bed and looked up at him. Bewildered, she blinked a few times and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“You’re home?”

“Yes, I left work early. I saw your text message. Would’ve left sooner had I seen it but I was in the distillery all day. Is everything okay?”

Tormund reached a hand up to touch her forehead.

“You’re a little warm. Have you eaten anything?”

“Not hungry,” she mumbled and sat up in bed. “You know, I’ve just been feeling so tired and bloated lately.” She smoothed hair from her face. 

Tormund nodded his head. It had been a common thing. The past two months had been a physical and emotional drain for her. Their time in the bedroom had suffered because of it. But he was patient. He was always patient.

“You’re full of love weight,” he teased despite her cutting her eyes at him. “But we’ll get through that. What did the doctor say?”

Brienne sighed. He knew she went to the doctor but she hadn’t told him  _ which _ doctor it was.

He scooted in the bed next to her, still in his work boots. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her close until her head was resting on his shoulder. She was definitely drained because she wasn’t fussing at him to take off his boots.

“I hate I didn’t have my phone with me, I woulda’ just taken you myself.”

“No, it’s okay.”

They went silent for a moment. Brienne took a deep breath and released it slowly. 

The moment she exhaled, she felt emotion piling in the back of her throat. She had no reason to feel so worried about this. Tormund, if anything, would weigh the options with her. No, they couldn’t afford another baby right now, let alone two, but they would make it work. He promised her they would always make it work. No matter what  _ it _ was.

“So what’d the doctor say?” He asked it again, knowing now she was avoiding answering the question.

Obviously, this was the next question. What other option was there.

“Well…”

Brienne bit the inside of her cheek and sighed.

“Well, what?” Tormund was genuinely curious.

“We’ll definitely be needing a house and more space soon. In about seven months to be exact.”

He sat there quietly, his arm still tight around her. It was taking him a while to catch what she was saying, to do the math in his head. When everything eventually made sense, he stiffened next to her.

There was silence.

And then, laughter.

His laugh was so loud, she could feel the rumble in his belly herself. 

“So much for birth control, huh?”

He pulled back to position himself so that he was on knees on the floor so he could be level with Brienne’s stomach.

“A baby. We’re going to have a fucking baby!”

“Bab **ies** ,” she corrected and the color drained from his face.

He looked up to her and perhaps, her face was giving away how she truly felt because he pushed up into the bed and took her face into his hands, almost straddling her.

“We can do this. We’ll be fine.”

“Two babies? Gabriel?” Even now as Brienne said it, the very thought of it all stunned her to a whisper. “How?  _ How _ ?” 

“I don’t know,” Tormund said honestly, “but we’ll figure it out. Don’t we always figure something out?”

Brienne’s jaw clenched in rapid sessions until Tormund cupped the side of her face. Tears filled her eyes and fear filled her heart. 

“I’m gonna be a papa to three beautiful children with my beautiful wife. I am not worried and you shouldn’t be either.”

Not yet married, he’d already begun letting everyone in the world know that she was his wife and soon, it’d be official, too. 

“And my life,” he paused and kissed her, “is beautiful.”

He looked to Brienne and said with raw emotion in his voice, “And  _ you _ are beautiful. The most beautiful fucking woman in the world.”’

Brienne couldn’t help herself. She was crying now, fat teardrops rolled down her cheeks. But they were happy tears and she prayed there would be many more to come.

“I’m gonna be a papa again. Twins! You’ve given me three children,” he rested his forehead to hers. “How are you so fucking amazing?” 

They locked eyes and then they both began to laugh.

Three months after Gabriel turned two, Brienne gave birth to two healthy baby girls named Molly and Ingrid. When they first came out they were so tiny, she was worried to death but that lasted only a minute and soon, those Gianstbane genes kicked in. Although Gabriel looked so much like Jaime, these two were her spitting image with the exception of red hair and their father’s green eyes.

It took time and patience to make this busy household work but with the help of Jaime, who was an excellent father to Gabriel with the kinks of his life smoothing out and the Stark family, Brienne’s father - who eventually packed up his life and moved to be closer to his daughter and grandchildren, and Tormund’s family - which Brienne grew to know and love things became quite.. 

Well, they became quite easy.


End file.
